Fincantieri inks cooperation deal with Greek yard

The agreement builds on an official agreement between Fincantieri and Onex Shipyards & Technologies Group in December 2022 for the creation of a corvettes manufacturing line and their life-cycle support base, that will be located at Onex Naval and Maritime Elefsis Shipyards.

The latest agreement includes Leonardo, the system integrator for the Combat Management System and the naval main sensors, systems and artillery, MBDA Italia and Elettronica alongside Fincantieri.

The Greek Navy is currently seeking to select a consortium to construct 2+1 naval corvettes in Greece, as part of a wider increase in maritime procurement.

The technology transfer deal is intended to assuage Greek government concerns about the Greek group’s ability to deliver the 2+1 corvette newbuilding contract. The ownership of the loss-making Elefsis Shipyard group has been transferred to Athens-based Onex as part of a government-brokered restructuring plan.

As part of the collaboration agreement between the Fincantieri-led consortium and Onex Elefsis Shipyards, the consortium intends to fund upgrades and improvements at the shipyard, and transfer technology, equipment as well as expertise. The consortium estimates that the transfers will be equivalent to approximately EUR80 million (USD86m), and would lead to the creation of 2,500 jobs in the wider Greek shipbuilding industry.

The cooperation agreement also suggests that the Greek shipyard may be included in future naval and commercial shipbuilding projects.