The European Investment Bank (EIB) has entered into an agreement with Italy's Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Economy and Finance wherein financing of up to €220 million (US$260.16 million) will be awarded for the construction of three new hydro-oceanographic vessels for the Italian Navy.
The project calls for the construction of one large and two smaller vessels that will replace three older ships currently being operated by the Italian Navy's Hydrographic Institute based in Genoa. Construction will begin in 2021 and conclude in 2027.
The three newer vessels will carry out activities including climate research studies in marine environments and seabed mapping to help produce official nautical charts for Italy's sea regions.
The largest of the three vessels will be used particularly for hydrographic and oceanographic research in the Mediterranean Sea, the world's oceans, and the Arctic and Antarctic regions while the two smaller vessels are to be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.
