Romania to pay EUR 1.6 bln for four corvettes from Damen

Romania wants to acquire four last generation multirole corvettes directly from Dutch producer Damen. They would be built at Damen’s shipyard in Galati, Eastern Romania. The program would run for a period of seven years and the total cost would amount to EUR 1.6 billion, reports local Hotnews.ro. The Government’s initial draft put into public debate presented the project’s value but only for four years, namely EUR 800 million. In reality, the estimated cost for the seven years reaches EUR 1.6 billion. The Defense Ministry has confirmed the information. The Ministry told Hotnews.ro that the value also includes the acquisition of ammunition, the initial logistics support, the crew’s training, as well as a collaboration with the Damen shipyard in modernizing other ships of the Romanian Navy. Romania wants to acquire four new multirole corvettes to replace the current corvettes that are outdated operationally and technically. The Defense Ministry is preparing a government draft so that the state can acquire the corvettes directly from the Dutch group Damen, without a public tender. editor@romania-insider.com