Constanţa Shipyard claims to have won the corvette tender, alongside the Naval Group France

By Constantin Radut
Hundreds of people, employees of Constanţa Shipyard (SNC), internal and external collaborators, financiers, officials, participated in the baptism ceremony of 41,000 tdw of the “Histria Atlas” chemical tank and oil tanker. It is a first ship of a series of six of this type, designed by SNC specialists, built by the shipyard workers, and will have on board only Romanian sailors.
On this occasion, the owner of the yard, Gheorghe Bosanceanu, referred to the fact that SNC, in association with the Naval Group, in France, participated and won the tender organized by the Ministry of National Defense, competing with Fincantieri, Italy and Damen, Netherlands.
“As we can see from the press, we have the best financial offer. So I won the auction. In conclusion, we expect that in the coming weeks, together with representatives of the Naval Group, we will be invited to set the deadlines for implementing the Military Navy fleet modernization program. The realization of this program in the Constanţa Shipyard is a natural solution given the proximity to Constanţa Naval Logistics Base and the Navy Command, “Gheorghe Bosanceanu said from the tribune.
Last Sunday, Defense Minister Gabriel Les said the tender for the construction of four multi-purpose corvettes was not canceled but only suspended. “I hope we make a decision. The tender will not resume, “Les said.
The tender for the Corvettes of the Romanian Navy appears to be in a straight line after Constanta Shipyard (SNC) withdrew its claim against the Ministry of National Defense (MApN).
The three competitors who submitted bids in the tender are: Naval Group, France – Constanta Shipyard – EUR 1.2 billion; Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding BV, the Netherlands – EUR 1,255 billion; Fincantieri SpA, Italy – EUR 1,344 billion, and the tender evaluation committee has determined that all competitors meet the technical conditions stipulated in the tender specifications.
It is possible that the Naval Forces will be equipped with Naval Group corvettes, the proposed model being GOWIND 2500 with a hybrid propulsion. These are state-of-the-art ships that have already been contracted by the Malaysian and Egyptian naval forces. They have European MBDA missile defense solutions: Small VL Anti-Air Missiles and Exocet Anti-ship Missiles and Thales tactical system.
Some technical details of the procedure for the acquisition of corvettes:
– Estimated program value (maximum): € 1.6 billion with VAT.
– The procurement procedure has the lowest price as the factor of differentiation, as long as the technical requirements requested by the Romanian state are fulfilled by the bidders.
– The ships will have to be built in Romania within seven years, and the first will have to be delivered only three years after contracting.
– Compensation component: modernization and arming of the two frigates Type 22 – King Ferdinand and Queen Mary, ships with which the four corvettes would form combat groups.
– Basic technical requirements: be able to fight in at least two different environments (anti-air / anti-submarine / anti-ship) and be able to operate a 10-ton helicopter in a hangar, but also drone.