Officers of the Chilean Navy and personnel of Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada (Asmar) traveled to the offices of Vard Marine in the Canadian city of Vancouver to discuss issues related to the construction of the first transport ship of the Escotillón IV project.
The company specialized in consulting in naval architecture and marine engineering, a subsidiary of Fincantieri, was awarded in December 2020 the contract for the design of a new generation of ships that will renew the means of the Amphibious Command and Naval Transport (Comanfitran).
The Escotillón IV project contemplates the construction of four units that will allow the replacement of the barges LST-92 Rancagua and LST-95 Chacabuco, the AP-41 Aquiles transport and the multipurpose ship LSDH-91 Sargento Aldea that are approaching the end of their useful life.
The program began on February 27 of this year with the cutting of a catfish, a longitudinal structural element parallel to the keel that reinforces the hull of the ship. The institution hopes to start the construction in the stands once the launch into the sea of the icebreaker Almirante Óscar Viel has been carried out.
It is estimated that the first vessel of the Escotillón IV project, which will allow the cancellation of the AP-41 Aquiles transport service, will be under construction in the Asmar Talcahuano stand until 2024, to later be finished afloat.