Bangladesh Coast Guard To Receive Four Fincantieri OPVs

Decommissioned vessels of the Italian Navy will be upgraded and supplied to Bangladesh Coast Guard by Fincantieri.

The Italian shipbuilder has been awarded the contract with the Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) for the supply of four Italian Navy “Minerva” class corvettes to be upgraded and converted into Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), and to provide the related logistics support services.

The contract was signed by Paolo Frino, Vice President After Sales Business Unit of Fincantieri and Mohammed Majedul Haque, Head of Planning and Sales of the BCG during a ceremony attended by Mario Palma, Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh, Mozammel Haque Khan, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (from which the BCG depends), Massimo De Benedictis, Fincantieri’s Regional Commercial Manager and Rear Admiral Mohammad Makbul Hossain, Director General of the BCG.

At the end of the upgrading and conversion works, which will take place in Italy and will last about 2 years, the vessels "Minerva", "Sibilla", "Urania", and "Danaide", whose lifespan will be extended by more than twenty years, will form the backbone of the Bangladesh Coast Guard fleet.

The agreement is particularly important for Fincantieri in the market segment of after-sales services for naval vessels, because it allows to provide a full range of services for both the platform and the combat system.