Fincantieri Starts Construction of Italian Navy's New Hydro-Oceanographic Ship

The steel cutting ceremony for the Italian Navy's new Hydro-Oceanographic Ship (N.I.O.M.) took place on Tuesday at the Riva Trigoso shipyard.

The vessel is designed for mapping and scientific monitoring activities, supporting initiatives of the Hydrographic Institute.

Key figures present at the event included Dario Deste, General Manager Naval Vessels Division of Fincantieri, Rear Admiral Massimiliano Nannini, the Director of the Hydrographic Institute, and Chief Inspector Admiral Giuseppe Abbamonte, the Director of Naval Armaments.

Scheduled for delivery in 2026 at the integrated shipyard in Riva Trigoso-Muggiano, the ship is part of the Navy's hydrographic service renewal program, aligned with an innovative European project involving the Ministry of Defense. A funding agreement has been established between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) within the framework of this initiative.

The N.I.O.M. was designed with a focus on environmental sustainability, featuring technologies to minimize emissions, a diesel-electric propulsion system for optimized fuel consumption, hull shapes to reduce drag, and the use of eco-friendly materials. The production process aligns with environmental management systems, as demonstrated by the ISO 14001 international standard compliance of all Group's Italian sites.

The ship's numerous scientific capabilities align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals related to the sea. Emphasizing health and safety, the vessel is designed to ensure the well-being of personnel during its operational life, with technical solutions identified in collaboration with first-class suppliers.

In 2018, Fincantieri supplied the Kronprins Haakon, an oceanographic icebreaker, to the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), while overseeing an exceptional refit of the Laura Bassi, Italy's only oceanographic research icebreaker, in 2021.

The Hydrographic Institute of the Italian Navy serves as the Cartographic Body of the State, responsible for producing official national nautical documentation.