Elefsis Shipyards owners Onex Shipyards & Technologies Group, of American interests, and Italy’s Fincantieri signed an agreement, on December 16, for a production and maintenance line of corvette war ships at the Elefsina-based shipyards.
The signing took place at the Development and Investment ministry and was carried out by Fincantieri ceo, Pierroberto Folgiero, and Onex president and ceo, Panos Xenokostas. Also present were Development and Investment minister, Adonis Georgiadis, alternate Development minister, Nikos Papathanassis, Italian ambassador to Athens, Patrizia Falcinelli, and Fincantieri's Naval Vessels Division general manager, Dario Deste.
Under the agreement two plus one cutting-edge corvettes will be built at Onex Elefsis Shipyards, with the needed upgrades, improvements, technical know-how, and transfer of technology, and outfitting, calculated at around Euro 80m. The agreement will also see the creation of 2,500 new job openings in the shipbuilding sector and collaboration with multiplier-effect benefits for the Greek economy and defense, along with the prospect of further collaborations between the two groups in future programmes to build navy and merchant ships.
The agreement comes just weeks after France's Naval Group committed to working with Greek shipyards to modernise and restructure the Greek defense and shipbuilding industry. The president and ceo of the French defense giant, Pierre-Eric Pommellet said Naval Group is already working with Greek companies on the Belharra frigate programme and has identified a number of others that could form part of its supply chain. Both within the commitment to 30% indigenously produced value of the Gowind corvette programme and more broadly, in merchant shipping, said Pommellet.
Pommellet made it clear Naval Group intends to invest in the field of research and development in Greece, specifically mentioning the examples of energy transfer and autonomous drone systems. Pommellet also made a special mention of Greece's Sunlight Group, and the innovative battery systems it manufactures, as well as of the vision for the shipbuilding sector of shipowner George Procopiou who plans to reactivate the country's Hellenic Shipyards.
– Filed: 2022-12-22