Vard Marine has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Turkey’s Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane İşletme A.Ş. (ASFAT) under which Vard would provide the design of a range of paramilitary vessels and ASFAT would coordinate construction of select projects at their approved naval shipyards in Turkey.
The MoU was signed at the on May 1 at the IDEF 2019 defense exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey.
ASFAT is part of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense and was formed in 2018 in order to manage and utilize the facilities and capabilities of the 27 military factories and 3 naval shipyards to serve the global defense industry benefiting from Turkish national facilities.
The office operates under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, and its general board is headed by the Minister of National Defense while the chair of executive board is deputy minister.
“We are proud to have been selected for this prestigious partnership by ASFAT and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship providing ship design services for indigenous Naval and Coast Guard programs as well as other international opportunities that benefit both parties,” Vard Marine president and CEO Dave McMillan commented.
Vard Marine did not reveal whether a specific design project was already in sight.
The company has offices in Canada, USA and Vietnam, and specializes in the development of advanced technology and its application to offshore, paramilitary and specialized vessel designs.