In the presence of the Deputy Secretary General of Defense, Admiral Pierfederico Bisconti and the Director of Navarm Admiral Chief Inspector Massimo Guma, the ceremony of laying the keel of SDO-SuRS (acronym of Special and Diving Operations – Submarine Rescue Ship ), the first military contract acquired by T. Mariotti, part of the Genova Industrie Navali Group.
The auspicious gesture of the first welding to seal the two coins of the “Owner” and the “Shipyard” was made by Admiral Guma representing the Italian Navy and by Marco Ghiglione, CEO of the T. Mariotti shipyards.
While in Genoa Seabourn Pursuit is being set up – the second expedition cruise ship designed for Antarctic cruises – T. Mariotti, a shipyard specialized in niche shipbuilding and super-luxury prototypes, returns to build in the spaces of San Giorgio di Nogaro, which since the mid-2000s, responds to the need to overcome the lack of space in Genoa for the construction of hulls, continuing to guarantee the highest levels of technology and craftsmanship.
SDO-SuRS, like the other ships signed T. Mariotti, will benefit from teamwork and consolidated relationships with the Port Authority of San Giorgio di Nogaro, the Aussa Corno Consortium and all the authorities involved. Once completed, the hull will be launched through the barge Arcalupa and then towed to Genoa for the final outfitting.
“Today’s ceremony represents an extremely significant stage of a long journey that originates when the General Staff of the Navy has defined the need to replace Nave ANTEO (ship placed under the Special Naval Group of the Underwater Command, used in underwater activities of all kinds, even at considerable depths, and to the rescue of submarines) which, after more than 40 years of honorable service, it has now reached the end of its operational life”, commented Admiral Bisconti, Deputy Secretary General of Defense and Deputy National Director of Armaments.
“At the end of a long initial process, with the involvement of all the actors of the Italian Navy, as well as the General Secretariat of Defense and the Directorate of Naval Armaments, in December 2021 the contract was signed with the temporary business grouping constituted by the T. Mariotti Shipyard (agent) and the companies Leonardo, Carlo Agnese and Exa Engineering (principals). Today, with this significant and traditional ceremony, we see the actual start of construction that will continue with the contribution and collaboration of all, Defense Administration and Industry, testifying to the excellence of the Country System” said Admiral Guma recalling that “The new ship will be called “Olterra”, from the name of a ship used during the last world war for special operations and will have as its motto “Per atra aequora fulgor” (shining in the underwater darkness) already used by the submarine N 5 after the First World War”.
“A little less than a year after the launch of the hull of Sebourn Pursuit, we are entering the heart of the first military construction entrusted to Mariotti – says Marco Ghiglione, CEO of T. Mariotti – A project of great Italian importance that once again confirms the ability of our shipyard to create ships with high technological and innovative content”.
The SDO-SuRS unit represents one of the most advanced platforms in the world in the field of underwater search and submarine rescue and is fully part of the renewal process carried out in the last decade by the Defense. SDO-SuRS, together with other important programs, will allow Italy to maintain and consolidate its leading role as a reference in international forums in the diving sector, promoting and strengthening multinational and bilateral cooperation in a specialized sector of increasing visibility and value on a global scale. The program will also direct the national industry towards the development of technologies that will strengthen its role in the world’s Top Industries.
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