Redivivus Corvette War (3): Did the Naval Group remove the Damen Group from the game?

By Constantin Radut
The corvette international tender returns after Constanta Shipyard (SNC) dropped the trial with the government. According to well-informed sources, the Constanta Shipyard (SNC) filed today, on February 18, 2019, with the Constanţa Court of Appeal a request for withdrawal from the court in the administrative and fiscal file that it filed for a GD appeal no. 48/2018, normative act justifying the procurement procedure for the “Multifunctional Corvette” endowment program.
The request for legal action was formulated strictly within the framework of the administrative contentious law, without requesting the suspension of the contested normative act, according to the document submitted by the SNC.
According to the above-mentioned document, SNC’s decision to quit the trial comes after the company’s action was presented by both the media and Defense Minister Gabriel Les as the main reason why the MApN suspended the corvette acquisition procedure.
“In order to respond to the Romanian Government’s desire to complete the procurement procedure as soon as possible and to remove any impediment to the action taken by our company, we expressly declare that we are giving up the trial,” showthe document submitted to the Court of Appeal Constanta.
Defense Minister Gabriel Les said last month that the tender procedure for the Corvette for the Romanian Naval Forces was suspended until the complaint by the MApN was filed with the military prosecutors and the complaint of Constanta Shipyard. The latter was withdrawn today and military prosecutors considered so weak the MApN’s complaint against the MApN that they directed it to “diverse”.
In this new context, a decision of the military prosecutors and then of the MApN management to complete the auction is expected.
We recall the list of bidders who have qualified and what solutions they have proposed:
– Naval Group – Gowind 2500 hybrid CODLAD hybrid propulsion system and European missile protection solutions MBDA: Exocet with small VL missiles and anti-ship. Price bid (from source): 1.2 billion
– Damen – Sigma 10514 with CODOE diesel-electric hydraulic propulsion with US reinforcement solutions: Boeing anti-ship missile, Raytheon anti-aircraft missile, General Dynamics sonar and Thales tactical system. Price bid (by source): 1.25 billion euros.
– Fincantieri – an Abu Dhabi-based corvette – called Abu Dhabi Enhanced – with CODAD diesel-diesel propulsion and European MBDA missile protection solutions: VL air missiles and Exocet anti-ship missiles. Price bid (from source): 1.34 billion euros.(SNC) dropped the trial with the government. According to well-informed sources, the Constanta Shipyard (SNC) filed today, on February 18, 2019, with the Constanţa Court of Appeal a request for withdrawal from the court in the administrative and fiscal file that it filed for a GD appeal no. 48/2018, normative act justifying the procurement procedure for the “Multifunctional Corvette” endowment program.
The request for legal action was formulated strictly within the framework of the administrative contentious law, without requesting the suspension of the contested normative act, according to the document submitted by the SNC.
According to the above-mentioned document, SNC’s decision to quit the trial comes after the company’s action was presented by both the media and Defense Minister Gabriel Les as the main reason why the MApN suspended the corvette acquisition procedure.
“In order to respond to the Romanian Government’s desire to complete the procurement procedure as soon as possible and to remove any impediment to the action taken by our company, we expressly declare that we are giving up the trial,” showthe document submitted to the Court of Appeal Constanta.
Defense Minister Gabriel Les said last month that the tender procedure for the Corvette for the Romanian Naval Forces was suspended until the complaint by the MApN was filed with the military prosecutors and the complaint of Constanta Shipyard. The latter was withdrawn today and military prosecutors considered so weak the MApN’s complaint against the MApN that they directed it to “diverse”.
In this new context, a decision of the military prosecutors and then of the MApN management to complete the auction is expected.
We recall the list of bidders who have qualified and what solutions they have proposed:
– Naval Group – Gowind 2500 hybrid CODLAD hybrid propulsion system and European missile protection solutions MBDA: Exocet with small VL missiles and anti-ship. Price bid (from source): 1.2 billion
– Damen – Sigma 10514 with CODOE diesel-electric hydraulic propulsion with US reinforcement solutions: Boeing anti-ship missile, Raytheon anti-aircraft missile, General Dynamics sonar and Thales tactical system. Price bid (by source): 1.25 billion euros.
– Fincantieri – an Abu Dhabi-based corvette – called Abu Dhabi Enhanced – with CODAD diesel-diesel propulsion and European MBDA missile protection solutions: VL air missiles and Exocet anti-ship missiles. Price bid (from source): 1.34 billion euros.