Rauma shipyard lays keel for first of four corvettes

Photo: RMC

Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) today laid the keel of the first of the four Squadron 2020 project multi-role Pohjanmaa-class corvettes that it is building for the Finnish Navy.

The keel of the ship was lowered in a cradle onto a building trestle inside the construction hall where the ship is being built. As is the tradition, two lucky coins were placed under the keel that will remain there once the ship is completed.

Due to national security reasons, the corvettes are being built indoors. For the same reason, the ceremony was not public. Those attending were the contracting party (the Finnish Defense Forces Logistics Command), the Finnish Navy, classification society Lloyd’s Register as well as the Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) management and key employees involved in the project.

“This day celebrates especially the shared work of the entire shipyard,” said RMC project director Timo Ståhlhammar. “The ship, today only a keel, can be seen as a symbol representing the commitment our shipyard and personnel have towards nhttps://www.marinelog.com/news/finland-signs-corvette-project-construction-contracts/ational defense. Our work has required smooth, extensive and open collaboration between the ordering party and all those connected to the project. The collaboration we have achieved is an asset that will ensure a successful outcome.”

The keel laying comes five monthsafterthe start of construction, and RMC says that the operative phase has progressed efficiently. The first part of the keel weighs 56 tonnes.

The direct impact the corvette project has on employment in Finland is approximately 3,600 person-years.

March 2024 marked the tenth years since RMC, an entirely Finnish-owned company, was founded shortly after STX Finland closed the Rauma shipyard in 2014. During this time, it has built multiple award-winning car and passenger ferries for commercial use: MyStar for Tallink (2022), Aurora Botnia for Wasaline (2021) and Hammershus for Molslinje (2018).

RMC is building four Pohjanmaa-class multi role corvettes in total for the Finnish Navy. Multi role corvette is a surface combatant capable of effectively conducting a range of Navy tasks at sea all year round. The high-performance vessels are designed to operate in the Baltic Sea year-round in various circumstances, including also icy and freezing conditions.

Several vessels have been built at the Rauma shipyard over the years for the Finnish Navy: four Hamina-class vessels, two Hämeenmaa-class minelayers, four Rauma-class missile boats, and the hovercraft ITA Tuuli. There have also been several icebreakers and other specialized vessels built at Rauma shipyard.

In addition to the corvettes, RMC is also constructing two car and passenger ferries for the Australian Spirit of Tasmania. The first vessel was launched in October 2023. The construction of the second vessel’s hull is near completion.

RMC has an orderbook of over EUR 1 billion.

Multi-role corvette dimensions

• Length: 117 meters
• Width: 16 meters
  Draft: 5 meters
• Speed: 26 knots (48 km/h)
• Crew: 70

• Armament: PTO2020 Gabriel surface-to-surface missile system, ITO2020 Sparrow surface-to-air missile system.
• Anti-submarine system: lightweight torpedo Torped 47.
• Minelaying system: sea mines.
• Self-defense systems: 57 mm BAE Bofors gun, decoy launchers and remote-controlled weapons.
• Sensors: Surveillance and fire control radar, sonar and towable hydrophone cable, hull-mounted sonar
• Combat management system: Saab 9LV