SAN FERNANDO (CADIZ), 23 Aug. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the company committee of Navantia San Fernando, Jesús Peralta, has considered “positive” the announcement made this past Tuesday about the construction of two coastal hydrographic vessels (BHC) for the Navy, which will generate a workload for four years and will hold 700 jobs, including direct, indirect and induced jobs, bringing “social and economic wealth” to the bay of Cádiz.
Along the same lines, the mayoress of San Fernando, Patricia Cavada, has stated that “the importance” of the different contracts that the naval company develops in the Bay and to which now adds the construction of these two hydrographic vessels.
Speaking to Europa Press, Peralta has received this announcement and the jobs it will generate with “joy and great enthusiasm”, which “will be noticed in the factory, especially in the city of San Fernando and in the Bay of Cádiz “. “I think they are going to create social and economic wealth, which is what we want in this Bay of Cádiz, so punished by unemployment,” she asserted.
The president of the island works council has hoped that this contract between the Government of Spain and Navantia, valued at 158.6 million euros, would be “a starting point” for the renewal of the fleet planned by the Navy. Some ships that have “a certain urgency” for the Navy, since the current ones “are quite obsolete despite their half-life repairs that have been done to them”, so they are “of priority need” for the Government.
For her part, the mayoress of San Fernando has underlined “the good news” that this new contract represents, which is “a clear commitment” of the Government of Spain with the Cadiz shipyards by contracting the construction of these ships to Navantia.
Cavada has recognized the “important” commercial work carried out by the naval company, listing the construction of the five corvettes for Saudi Arabia, in addition to the new contract to develop another five, the patrol boat for Morocco and these two hydrographic vessels, which Together they will generate “more than 8,300 jobs in the naval sector”, he pointed out.
“A very important investment that comes to our shipyards, but above all to the importance it has in the generation of working hours and employment”, stated the mayoress, to defend that it is “something essential for the development and future of this Bay of Cádiz and our city”.
The vessels will replace the hydrographic Antares, built in the 1970s and the only one still in service of the four of the Castor class. With the new BHCs, an important step will be taken in the renewal of the hydrographic fleet, also advancing in the green transition, since the new vessels will be able to operate with biofuels.
The Ministry of Defense has worked with Navantia to prepare a conceptual design in accordance with the necessary requirements for the fulfillment of the ship’s missions. They will be vessels of 47 meters in length and a displacement of around 900 tons. With a reduced crew of 30 people, due to their high degree of automation, they will have a range of 3,000 miles to keep operating in shallow waters for 15 days.
