Fincantieri delivers second Al Zubarah corvette for Qatar

Fincantieri handed over the second of four Al Zubarah-class corvettes, Damsah, to the Qatari Navy on 28 April. (Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the second Al Zubarah-class corvette to Qatar.

Damsah (F 102) was officially handed over during a ceremony held at Fincantieri's Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia on 28 April.

Fincantieri is building four Al Zubarah-class corvettes for Qatar under a contract awarded in 2016. The multiship order, worth EUR4 billion (USD4.47 billion), also includes the delivery of a landing platform dock and two offshore patrol vessels.

First-in-class Al Zubarah (F 101) was handed over and commissioned on 28 October 2021. The third and fourth ships, Al-Khor (F 103) and Sumaysimah (F 104), were launched in September 2021 and March 2022 respectively, and are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.

The Al Zubarah-class corvettes have a full load displacement of around 3,250 tonnes and an overall length of 107 m. They are equipped with combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) propulsion package to deliver a maximum speed of 28 kt, with a standard range of 3,000 n miles at 15 kt. The ships can carry a complement of 112 personnel on board.

The corvettes are equipped with a flight deck able to carry one NHIndustries NH90 helicopter, and a stern ramp to launch rigid-hull inflatable boats.

The weapons fit includes a Sylver A-50 vertical launch system (VLS) for Aster 15/30 air-defence missiles forward, a 21-cell Mk 49 launcher for RIM-116C Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) on the hangar, two quad launchers for MM40 Exocet Block III anti-ship missiles, a Leonardo 76 mm/62 Super Rapid gun, and two 30 mm gun stations.