Italian ship building company Fincantieri held a grand ceremony yesterday to mark the start of the steel cutting process for building of naval ships destined for Qatar’s Emiri Navy.

The ceremony, which was held in the port city of La Spezia, was attended by top officials from the two nations.

Qatar deputy PM who is Minister of State for Defense Affairs attended steel cutting ceremony of first Qatar Emiri Navy Doha class Corvette at Fincantieri pic.twitter.com/nLo6VweWrJ

— Abdulmoiz (@abdulmoiz1990) July 30, 2018

Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, Italian Minister of Defence Elisabetta Trenta, and several senior officials from both sides were in attendance, reported Gulf Times.

Two years ago, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence had signed a deal with Fincantieri for them to build and supply the country with seven new-generation military vessels. It was done as part of the Qatari Emiri Navy’s development program, according to The Peninsula.

The contract, which is worth €4bn, will see Finacantieri build seven surface vessels, which will also include four corvettes, one amphibious vessel (LPD — Landing Platform Dock) and two patrol vessels (OPV — Offshore Patrol Vessel), said a Press release on the Italian ship maker’s official page.

 

The Qatari Emiri Naval Forces’ corvettes are taking shape today! The corvettes will have a length of 107 meters, and will be able to accommodate 112 persons on board. We will build seven vessels: four air defense corvettes, one amphibious vessel (LPD - Landing Platform Dock), and two patrol vessels (OPV - Offshore Patrol Vessel) for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces. Le corvette per la Qatari Emiri Naval Forces stanno prendendo forma! Le corvette avranno una lunghezza di 107 metri e potrà ospitare a bordo un equipaggio di 112 persone. Per la Qatari Emiri Naval Forces realizzeremo sette navi: tra cui quattro corvette da difesa aerea, una nave per operazioni anfibie (LPD) e due pattugliatori (OPV). #fincantieri #madeforthesea #TheSeaAhead #shipyard #shipbuilding #instajob #vessel #marine #navy #military #defense #sea

A post shared by Fincantieri (@fincantieri) on Jul 30, 2018 at 7:00am PDT

Also included in the deal is 10 years of support services after the delivery of the vessels. All units will be built entirely in Fincantieri’s Italian shipyards.

The first ‘Doha’ class corvette, whose steel was cut yesterday, will be a flexible ship capable of fulfilling different kinds of tasks — from surveillance to sea rescue to fighting at sea.

It will be about 107M long and 14.70M wide, with a maximum speed of 28 knots. It will be equipped with a combined diesel and diesel turbine plant and will be able to accommodate 112 persons on board. Out of them, 98 will be crew.

The new ships are expected to significantly improve the country’s defensive capabilities at sea,