Contract for the Modernisation of Colombian Class 209 Submarines

>The Colombian Navys Type 209 submarine Pijao (SO 28), seen here docking at US Naval Station Mayport, is one of two boats to be modernized by HDW. (US Navy photo)Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG, and MarineForce International LLP (MFI) signed a contract for two material packages for the maintenance and modernisation of the Colombian Navy submarines A.R.C. Pijao and A.R.C. Tayrona. The contract was signed between the HDW/MFI consortium and the Colombian Ministry of Defence.>> HDW built the two boats in Kiel from 1970 and delivered them five years later to the Colombian Navy. Since then, the two Class 209/1200 boats have been subjected to two modernisation programmes at the shipyard in Germany where they were built.>> This new modernisation project will be carried out in Colombia by the state-owned shipyard COTECMAR in Cartagena. The scope of delivery by HDW and MFI encompasses the two material packages as well as support for COTECMAR with technical know-how. The Colombian shipyard plans to conclude the project by the end of 2011.>> For ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and MFI, this contract is another indication of the unbroken trust of South American navies in German submarine technology.>> With 63 units contracted to date, the HDW Class 209 submarines represent the most successful non-nuclear submarine class in the world. In South America alone, submarines of this class are in service in seven navies.>> Main characteristics of Class 209/1200 submarines:> --Length: approx. 56 m> --Displacement: approx.