average time at sea of more than 5000 hours per year. Designed in part to take on the role of supporting peacekeeping, multi-national forces, keel laying for the first of four F125’s was due to take place at the end of 2011 and delivery of the first vessel in 2016. Several other projects are not only being


built to GL Class but will be maintained in class by GL as well. Te new Royal Dutch Navy logistic support ship Karel Doorman, or Joint Support Ship (JSS), is currently being built to GL class by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding. Te new vessel will be one of the largest vessels ever built in Te Netherlands, at more than 200m in length and with a fully loaded displacement of more than 28,000tonnes. Delivery of the new vessel is scheduled for 2014. A project nearing completion is the GL


classed HTMS Angthong (LPD-791), the new landing ship tank of the Royal Tai Navy. Designed to carry up to 18 tanks and deploy six smaller craſt, the vessel has overall length of 141m, beam of 21m and a draught of 5m. Tis vessel was launched in 2011 by Singapore Technologies Marine and is due for delivery in 2012. DNV says it currently has 91 vessels


in class with in excess of 45 in the class entry process. Tese include a wide range of craſt such as landing craſt, large patrol craſt, offshore patrol vessels, frigates, and small and large auxiliaries operated by the navies of Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Te Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK. Among the most notable are the Royal


Danish Navy’s Absalon class, which bear the class notation 1A1 ICE-C Naval(dnk) HELDK E0 NV. DNV describes the vessels


as “revolutionary” with an unprecedented capacity for being transformed from a combat ship with the firepower of a traditional frigate to a hospital ship. “As a ro-ro vessel it has a 900m2 flex-deck enabling transport of main battle tanks, military trucks and troops and a containerised hospital,” says DNV. Also built to DNV class is the Iver


Huitfeldt class frigates, a class of three new vessels for the Royal Danish Navy that will bear the notation 1A1 ICE-C Naval(dnk) HELDK E0 ICS NBC-2. Derived from the design of


the Royal Danish Navy’s


Command Support Ship these frigates are multipurpose vessels with a 32-cell Mk 41 vertical launcher amidships and an advanced anti-air warfare system based on an active- array multifunction radar. Sauro Gazzoli, head of naval vessels


at Italy’s RINA S.p.A, confirms the view expressed by other class societies that it has become common practice for navies and warship builders to class new vessels. Te benefits to them are threefold, he believes. “Tey can be more cost effective, they can be cleaner and they can be safer,” he explains. “Navies want to emulate the safety and


environmental protection standards met by merchant ships. In part they can do that by adapting class rules and statutory solutions used in merchant shipping. For those areas where they cannot use the rules directly, RINA is working with INSA (the International Naval Safety Association) on the development of the Naval Ship Code, which aims to be the equivalent of the SOLAS Convention for naval ships. “In the ship’s structure,” Mr Gazzoli explains, “big cost savings can be achieved


by adopting technical standards proven in merchant ships, where no specific military standard is required. Tat was one reason why RINA fully updated its RINAMIL Rules in mid-2011. “Te main change is the direct reference


to the rules for merchant ships for those aspects where no specific military standard is required; this enhances the possibility to access COTS material and well-proven/ cost-effective technical standards without impairing the quality and performance of the ship.” Other updates to the technical parts of


RINA’s rules for warships have been to make more specific the technical requirements in respect of the ship’s role, providing different approaches for front line, second line and auxiliary ships. New service notations have been introduced for


the classification of


amphibious warfare ships (LPD/LHD) and for Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs). “Te RINA Rules for the classification


of Fast Patrol Vessels are presently being updated and should be ready in 2012,” Mr Gazzoli tells Warship Technology, noting that RINA’s latest warship project is the classification of an 8800tonne LPD for the Algerian Navy to be built by Fincantieri Shipyard. This


ship will be designed,


constructed and certified in accordance with the new RINAMIL 2011 Rules and with the applicable Annexes to the MARPOL Convention in


respect of


pollution prevention. Ongoing RINA warship projects include:


the FREMM project for the Italian Navy (the first frigate is soon to be delivered and construction is proceeding for the second, third and fourth frigates at Fincantieri); the MCMV 2010 for the Finnish Navy (the first vessel is soon to be delivered and construction is proceeding for the second and third vessels at Intermarine Shipyard); and the TCSG ‘Dost’ project for the Turkish Coastguard (the first OPV/search and rescue vessel is to be delivered shortly and construction is proceeding of the second, third and fourth vessels at RMK Marine Shipyard (Turkey). RINA is also classing projects in the United Arab Emirates,


including Abu GL is heavily involved in the German Navy’s F125 project. Warship Technology January 2012


Dhabi’s new corvette and two stealthy OPVs of the Falaj class, which are being built by Fincantieri. WT


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