Chilean Navy, Vard Marine, and Asmar work on developing first transport vessel

Officials from the Chilean Navy and personnel from “Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada” (Navy Shipyards – 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 vessel of the Escotillon IV project.

The company specializing in naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy, 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 and Naval Transport Command (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 transport AP-41 Aquiles and the multipurpose vessel LSDH-91 Sargento Aldea, which are nearing the end of their useful life.

The program began on February 27 this year by cutting a “bagra,” a longitudinal structural element parallel to the keel that reinforces the ship’s hull. The institution expects to begin construction in the slipway once the icebreaker Almirante Óscar Viel is launched at sea.

It is estimated that the first vessel of the Escotillón IV project, which will allow the discharge of the AP-41 Aquiles transport, will be under construction in the slipway of Asmar Talcahuano until 2024, to be subsequently completed afloat.

MULTIPURPOSE CAPABILITIES

The construction of the four multipurpose ships of the Escotillón IV project will allow a wide range of operations and the improvement of the Chilean Navy’s logistic deployment capabilities.

The units will be able to operate throughout the Pacific and will have capabilities and standards to navigate in Antarctic waters during the summer months, perform operations that include logistical support, search and rescue (SAR) missions, movement and deployment of troops and material, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR).

The primary roles of the new units will be the transport of military personnel and equipment to conduct amphibious operations and the administrative transport of troops and military vehicles.

As for secondary functions, the ships will provide humanitarian aid in disaster support operations and administrative transport of personnel and cargo in peacetime for logistical support or connectivity of isolated territories.

They will be manned by 21 officers and 74 seafarers and be able to transport an embarked force composed of a commander, an Amphibious Task Force (ATF) staff, a Marine Infantry Battalion (MI) commander, 16 MI officers, and 231 MI soldiers.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The ships will have a length of 110 m, a beam of 21.8 m, a depth of 13.8 m, a displacement of 7,987 tons, diesel-electric propulsion, propulsion power of 11,200 kW, and electric power of 6,000 kW.

They will reach a maximum speed of 18 knots and an economical speed of 12 knots, a range of 40 days, a crossing distance of 7,000 nautical miles, and an operating capacity of 187 days per year.

They will have two cargo cranes of 20 tons each, a door and ramp on the side, and an aft door for the dry dock that will allow the deployment of different types of vessels.

They will have two remote weapons stations (RWS) with 20 mm cannons in the bow and two RWS with 12.7 x 99 mm machine guns in the stern.

The units will have a capacity for 22 20-foot containers (two refrigerated), 527 m2 of deck space for vehicles and cargo, a dock for an LCM or Antarctic dinghy, 25 Marine Corps inorganic inflatable boats, two RHIB-type work/rescue boats, and two rubber dinghies.

They will have a flight deck to operate an Airbus Cougar, Dauphin, or Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter, and the hangar will allow the transport of a Cougar plus two unmanned vertical take-offs and landing (VTOL) vehicles or two Dauphin helicopters.

With information from InfoDefensa