A keel-laying ceremony for first Fininish Navy Squadron 2020 corvette was held at Rauma shipyard on 11 April. (Rauma shipyard)

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) laid the keel for the first Squadron 2020 Pohjanmaa-class multirole corvette on order for the Finnish Navy during a ceremony at its shipyard in Rauma on 11 April.

Announcing the milestone the same day, RMC said the yard has been making good progress on the first ship since the first steel was cut on 30 October 2023. “It has been five months since the start of construction, and the operative phase has progressed efficiently,” RMC said.

RMC is delivering four Pohjanmaa-class multirole corvettes in total for the Finnish Navy under a EUR647.6 million (USD687.8 million) design and construction contract awarded in 2019 – with the build being carried out by its subsidiary RMC Defence. The corvettes are being constructed in a new covered assembly hall built specifically for the Squadron 2020 programme, measuring 180×40×30 m and with a floor area of about 13,000 m².

Under current planning, the lead ship is expected to start sea trials in 2026, with all four ships to be delivered by 2029.

The US Navy is the contracting agent for the US Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter. (VT Halter/Marine Technology Associates)

Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski asked US naval officials to show “robust” support for platforms and facilities for Arctic-related operations on 16 April during a Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) hearing.

In particular, Murkowski asked for greater support for the US Coast Guard's (USCG's) Polar Security Cutter (PSC) programme and the effort to create a naval port facility in Nome, Alaska.

“I've been trying to get [the] coastguard going with the Polar Security Cutter and I've been frustrated on many levels,” she said, noting the US Navy (USN) is the official contract agent for the joint programme.

She said she wanted USN commitment that it is backing the programme.

“It doesn't help that in the president's [Fiscal Year 2025] budget [request] there's no money for the Polar Security Cutter,” she said. “I'm nervous.”

The country needs “assets that will break the ice. We can't hope subs will poke a hole through that a ship will able to move through. That's not how it works”, Murkowski said.

HII has made capital expenditure investments at its shipyards, including Newport News Shipbuilding, shown here. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

US shipbuilders should invest more money in their facilities to help the US Navy (USN) meet fleet requirements, USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro testified on 16 April to the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC).

“Shipyards are not making enough of a contribution,” Del Toro testified during the SAC hearing on navy posture, pointing out that while the USN has invested billions in shipbuilding plans, shipbuilders have been using money to buy back stock in their own companies.

“We need them to invest in their own shipyards,” Del Toro said.

Senator Jon Tester, chairman of the SAC defence subcommittee, also blasted shipyards during the hearing for “buying back stock before investing in their shipyards”.

Del Toro previously had commented on the need for shipyards to invest more in their own facilities, but shipyard officials for HII and other major yards have publicly noted capital expenditure (CAPEX) funding in their facilities in recent years.

“HII's CAPEX funding is over USD1.5 billion for the two shipbuilding yards, from 2019 to 2023,” HII noted to Janes