An important step forward in the modernisation process in the “underwater” field, which strengthens operational effectiveness in scenarios of high technological complexity.
The delivery ceremony of Nave Tritone, a multipurpose Offshore Support Vessel (OSV), to the Italian Navy took place last week at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo.
Nave Tritone is a multipurpose support vessel, equipped with adequate spaces that can be reconfigured depending on the mission to be performed, allowing it to accommodate, handle, fuel, and maintain a variety of payloads (including unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater systems). Its modular capability is crucial both for its versatility of use and for the future, allowing it to deploy systems that are always up-to-date without needing to modernise the entire mother platform.
The acquisition of Nave Tritone is part of a new approach to capability acquisition, with direct market action, including internationally, for cutting-edge solutions (in the form of platforms or services, including leasing/rental) with high turnover, for immediate inclusion in the operational testing cycle and possible integration into the armed forces’ inventory.
The use of Nave Tritone will also enable, through the numerous experiments it will carry out, the development of requirements and specifications for the new units to be designed, in particular the future Multipurpose Units for the Surveillance of the Underwater Dimension (UPSDS), scheduled to enter service starting from 2031.
A distinctive element of the ship is the DP2 class dynamic positioning system, which, together with advanced automation and systems for offshore operations, allows for automatic position maintenance even in adverse weather and sea conditions, thanks to system redundancy.
The delivery process concluded with sea trials in the Gulf of Palermo and training of the first crew by the Centro Allestimento Nuove Costruzioni Navali (MARINALLES). The vessel then enters service under the Fifth Naval Division (COMDINAV 5-MARICODRAG) of CINCNAV, contributing to maritime surveillance and the protection of national interests in the underwater domain.
The event was attended by military, civil, and religious authorities, along with the crew deployed under the command of the Unit’s Commander, Frigate Captain Andrea Grottoli. The highest authority in attendance was Admiral Vincenzo Montanaro, Logistics Commander and Outfitting Inspector of the Italian Navy, accompanied by Chief Inspector Admiral Cristiano Nervi, Director of NAVARM; Rear Admiral Cristo Salvatore Traetta, Chairman of the Unit’s Conformity Verification and Acceptance Commission (CVCA) and Commander of the Fifth Naval Division (COMDINAV 5-MARICODRAG); and Captain Gennaro Falcone, Commander of the New Naval Construction Outfitting Center; Dr. Gabriele Maria Cafaro, Fincantieri’s Executive Vice President Underwater , represented the program’s industrial side.
The vessel was renamed “TRITONE,” after a sea deity who protected the deep in Greek mythology. The first surface vessel to bear this name in the armed forces, it historically recalls the royal submarine TRITONE, the class leader of a number of vessels operating in the Mediterranean and in service during the Second World War from October 10, 1942, to January 19, 1943.
