Two heroes for one ship. Spartaco Schergat and Giuseppe Aonzo - respectively heroes of the Second and First World War - have been remembered in the Fincantieri shipyard in Riva Trigoso, Genoa. Spartaco Schergat has given his name to the ship that has been launched during the ceremony. The other attended virtually with the presence of his daughter Anna Rosa Aonzo Grillo, who cut the ribbon and smashed the bottle on the ship’s hull, according to tradition.
Schergat is the ninth of a series of ten FREMM (European multi-mission) frigates, designed by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy, in order to meet the requirements of an aging fleet. The ship will enter into service in 2020, on completion of the fitting activities, which will continue in the Fincantieri naval shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia). “These frigates”, said Admiral Valter Girardelli, chief of the Italian Navy, “have been designed and constructed to be deployed in a wide range of operational domains. Thanks to their characteristics and potential in terms of surveillance capabilities and platform systems, they are able to provide a major contribution to all assignable missions and can be employed both to perform traditional roles and to conduct missions in support of the community, in a dual-use perspective”.
The Schergat vessel - 144 metres long, with a 19.7 metres beam - has a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tons and a maximum speed of over 27 knots, with accommodation capacity for up to 200.
“Fincantieri has always been seen as a mere steel plate assembler, but no one should underestimate the advanced technology of our products”, said Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri CEO, emphasizing the high level of innovation characterizing these naval units.
At the end of the ceremonial addresses, the ship’s godmother cut the ribbon, while the atmosphere still resounded with Commander Aonzo’s words, quoted by Admiral Girardelli, “God, homeland and family are the aims of my life; honesty, loyalty and duty are my laws; the sea is my poetry”.
12 сен 2024
