Romania might resume procurement of military frigates

Romania’s Defense Ministry might complete the tender initiated last year for the procurement of four multi-role corvettes, under a contract initially estimated to cost some EUR 1.6 billion (including refurbishment of two existing frigates), after the consortium formed by Constanta Shipyards and France’s Naval Group dropped their objections to the process.

Defense minister Gabriel Les stated that the procedures would be completed once the court rules on the objections raised by Constanta Shipyards, local Hotnews.ro reported. Surprisingly, Constanta Shipyards objected to the tender process despite having submitted the best bid, according to rumors.

Romania’s Government suspended the corvette purchase earlier this year after a senior Defense Ministry official said he had spotted irregularities in the process. The procurement department also notified military prosecutors about reasonable suspicions regarding the legality of the procedures. Minister Les didn't mention these issues last week when speaking about resuming the process.