The first one of the three mine countermeasure vessels ordered by the Finnish Navy, MHC (Mine Hunter Coastal) Katanpää was handed over to the Finnish Navy.
The vessel was accepted by the Commander of the Finnish Navy, Rear Admiral Veli-Jukka Pennala at the Intermarine shipyard in La Spezia, Italy.
The vessel will be shipped to its home base in Turku, where it is expected to arrive at the end of May.
The vessel will be presented to the public for the first time on July 9th, during the anniversary of the Navy celebrations.
New class of vessel
The Katanpää class vessels will provide the Finnish Navy with a new kind of mine countermeasure capacity, which will, in addition to the present contact mine and influence mine clearing capacity, enable the Navy to conduct mine hunting and mine demolition tasks.
The Katanpää class vessels are mainly aimed for domestic use. The vessels’ systems can also be used in executive assistance, for e.g. in mapping the seabed, under-water searches and identification and in defusing under-water explosives.
The vessels are EU and NATO interoperable, and, therefore, improve Finland’s chances of participating in international crisis management operations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, May 08, 2012; Image: puolustusvoimat