With the end of the year, the former coastal minesweeper Mussel and the offshore tug Prometheus they have been removed from the framework of the military navy of the state.
Ship Mussel, launched on 8 June 1957, it was mainly used for patrolling and remediation of underwater threats at the entrance to ports. In the last phase of its operational life, together with other units of the class Lobster, has been periodically dislocated in Livorno, in order to ensure the training needs of the young students of the Naval Academy during the outings at sea to acquire the first notions of maneuver of a naval unit.
Ship Prometheus, belonging to the class "Atlas", was conceived as a tugboat offshore both for sea rescue and for fire fighting. Launched in 1975 at the Visentini shipyard in Donata (RO), and delivered to the Navy the following year, he worked in the offices of Naples, Messina and Augusta.
In October 2017, respectively in the Augusta and La Spezia offices, the two naval units concluded their operational activity with the ritual solemn ceremony of the Last Ammaina Bandiera, in the presence of the population and the local military and civil authorities and today , at the same time as the radiation, the ships will take on the name of "floats" for the subsequent sale activity.
Also these radiations contribute to the process of downsizing the Naval Squad due to the progressive aging of the units that have matured an average life close to or higher than 30 years.
