The keel-laying ceremony for a new corvette-class vessel for the Ukrainian Navy has taken place in Istanbul.
The ceremony was attended by a Ukrainian Defense Ministry delegation led by the Ukrainian Navy’s Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Maritime Telegraph.
The keel for the corvette was laid at a shipyard in Istanbul (Turkey).
The construction of the Ada-class corvette began on 28 April 2021, but according to Turkish traditions, a keel-laying ceremony is held only after part of a vessel’s sections and hull are built.
In accordance with the existing agreements, the corvette will be delivered to Ukraine in 2022 and it will enter into service in the Ukrainian Navy in 2024.
Neizhpapa described this as a landmark event in the development of the Ukrainian Navy. According to him, all the agreements with the Republic of Turkey are being implemented on time and some are being implemented ahead of schedule.
As the CFTS portal reported earlier, UAH 3.8 billion will be allocated for financing the construction of the Ukrainian corvette in 2021. The money will be used to finance the construction of an Ada-class corvette developed in Turkey.
The Ocean shipyard (Mykolaiv) and Turkey’s State Defense Concern recently signed a memorandum on joint implementation of the project for the construction of corvette-class vessels for the Ukrainian Navy. The memorandum provides for conclusion of separate contracts between the two parties within clearly agreed terms and outlines specific steps for cooperation under the corvette program.
