Fincantieri lays keel for Qatar's new LPD

Fincantieri lays the keel for Qatar‘s new LPD at its Palermo yard on 17 May. (Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has laid the keel for the landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious assault ship on order for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces.

An official keel-laying ceremony was held at the shipbuilder's yard in Palermo on 17 May.

Fincantieri is building the LPD for Qatar under a contract awarded in 2016. The multiship order, worth EUR4 billion (USD4.16 billion), also includes the delivery of four Al Zubarah-class corvettes and two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

The LPD is based on the 143 m Batiment de Débarquement et de Soutien Logistique (BDSL) Kalaat Beni Abbes built by Fincantieri for the Algerian National Navy and delivered in 2014.

It will have a full load displacement of about 8,800 tonnes, with an overall length of 143 m, a beam of 21.5 m, and will carry a complement of 550 (including 150 crew and 400 embarked forces). The ship will have a top speed of 20 kt and a standard range of 7,000 n miles at 15 kt.

The vessel will be equipped with two vehicle ramps and a well-dock capable of operating a landing craft mechanised (LCM) vessel. Three landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP) vessels are to be carried on davits. The flight deck is sized for NH90 helicopters.

The ship will be fitted with two eight-cell Sylver A50 vertical launch systems (VLS) for MBDA Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles and Lacroix Sylena Mk 2 decoy launchers. It is expected to be equipped with a Leonardo 76/62 mm Super Rapid gun and four 30 mm Leonardo MARLIN-WS remotely controlled guns.