The Navy gives the last farewell to the former corvettes Minerva and Sibilla

02/07/15

On Thursday 25 June commander Maritime Sicily, rear-admiral Nicola De Felice, signed the formal deed of transfer to the Fincantieri Company of the two former corvettes Minerva and Sibilla.

The two naval units, which have permanently left the naval base of Augusta towing to Genoa, have been hailed by all the units present in the port and in the harbor and by the commander, corvette captain Fabio Pinturo.

After over 25 years of activity, the two former corvettes will arrive at the Genoa shipyards to undergo transformation and adjustment works before delivery to the Bangladesh Coast Guard.

These two units will be replaced in the 2021 and in the 2022 when two new patrols, financed by the 2015 stability law, will enter the line and the fleet will be reduced by about 45% compared to the current consistency.

Because of the aging of the naval team, in fact, 51 of the 60 ships currently in service will have to be destroyed in the next decade.

The corvettes were born in the early eighties with a construction program started in 1985 and ended in 1991.

Their operational capabilities have enabled them to be used for various tasks, including the presence and surveillance in the sea basins adjacent to the peninsula, the protection of mercantile traffic and the control of the obligatory passages close to the major islands.

Equipped with a good stability and tightness, the corvettes are characterized by reduced dimensions and by an architecture that offers a limited electromagnetic signature.

The propulsion system, simple and reliable, consists of two diesel engines that develop a maximum speed of 24 nodes. The range is 3500 miles at a speed of 18 nodes.

The combat system, at the time of the modern and effective construction, provides, in addition to surface detection and navigation radar and standard communication systems, a compact 76mm gun for point defense and two 25 mm machine guns.

In the long years of activity these two units have sailed the seas to successfully complete various operational and training missions.

Just to name a few: the Sharp Guard and Sharp Fence operations, linked to the repression of illicit traffics in the Adriatic Sea and the control of exodus in Albania, the fishing supervision, the control of migratory flows in the Strait of Sicily, the cooperation activities with the marinas of the riparian countries, the Open Sea exercise and the training courses for young officers in formation.