ONEX Shipyards press release
ONEX is pleased to announce that is expanding its cooperation with Fincantieri S.p.A. in such a way that definitely provides significant competitive advantages and benefits to the Greek Shipbuilding and Defence Industries, as well as the Hellenic Navy (HN). The new partnership includes a new world-class ship production line under the umbrella of the Group’s defence shipbuilding company, ONEX Elefsis Naval & Maritime, including the construction of corvettes up to the most advanced surface ships, especially frigates, offering the HN modern, cross-functional and high-tech solutions to significantly upgrade its operational capabilities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The said cooperation is based on the strategic partnership between Fincantieri S.p.A. and ONEX Group that has been officially established in accordance with the Agreement signed in Athens on December 16th 2022, offering a series of advantages and benefits to the Greek shipbuilding and defense industry as well as to the HN:
- a holistic solution (corvettes, frigates, etc.) for the HN ensuring high operational capability and dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean
- creation of more than 2,400 new jobs
- creation of a production line for the HN and other fleets
- creation of a centre of excellence for the Eastern Mediterranean region
In light of the above, FCx30 – being a state-of-the-art sea proven corvette with supreme performance in all warfare environments – would be an effective step ahead towards the modernization of the HN and a milestone for the Greek economy, since it leads to the upgrade of the Hellenic Shipbuilding Industry‘s capabilities and the creation of a strategic hub in Elefsis for the naval and maritime sector in the East Mediterranean, in full compliance with the objectives and priorities set by both the Hellenic National Defense Industrial Strategy and the Hellenic National Industrial Strategy.
Besides, a true long-term support for the HN cannot be limited only to a specific program and a long-term partnership is needed in order to ensure that the Hellenic capabilities and operational efficiency will continuously increase, in such a way to keep effective competitive advantages, ONEX and Fincantieri Groups are expanding their cooperation, well beyond the Hellenic Corvette program, in further naval and maritime programs, that represent the new era in shipbuilding and the incorporation of innovative and cutting-edge technologies in Greece.
It is well known that Fincantieri S.p.A., being a world leader in shipbuilding industry is actively participating in the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) project – that is co-funded by the Greek Government and is part of the PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) projects – and Fincantieri has also been awarded to build the new multi-mission guided-missile Constellation-class frigates for the US Navy, which are based on the well proven Italian FREMM frigate design.
Such advanced ship designs incorporate the latest advancements in materials, construction techniques, hydrodynamics and can significantly improve performances, survivability, stealth capabilities, fuel efficiency and overall operational effectiveness of this family of surface naval vessels, the possibility to share significant commonalities in future systems developments (such as CMS, weapons and other payloads), which also increases their interoperability and at the same time, reduces their overall maintenance cost.
Following the above and based on the existing Agreement between the two Groups, Fincantieri S.p.A. has poistively evaluated ONEX Elefsis Shipyards’ capabilities for new building programs and for MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), as well as for the creation of a Center of Excellence.
Of course, the competencies required to build and deliver naval ships in Greece, in ONEX Shipyards, can be further expanded in the future, through the cooperation between ONEX and Fincantieri S.p.A., and may include vessels with various displacements and capabilities (patrol ships, logistic support ships, etc).
In this way, the availability of support and resources will be also improved and will lead to an overall economy of scale and improved Follow on Support (FOS), that can be obtained locally in Greece based on a robust industry ecosystem that is already being created by ONEX and Fincantieri S.p.A..
Hence, the cooperation between ONEX and Fincantieri S.p.A. is solid enough to represent a reference for the Greek authorities, who can rely on this partnership to build a strategic roadmap for the future modernization needs of the HN Fleet and this will guarantee that skills for having a HN technologically superior in an ever-evolving maritime landscape will remain in Greece for many decades in the years to come.