Intermarine - Fast Patrol Boats, Minehunters, Military Boat Design and Construction

Intermarine was established in 1970 as a shipyard specialised in design and construction of vessels in composite material, or Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (FRP).

Production of vessels in FRP has been, and is still today, Intermarine's core business: significant resources have been invested for developing new raw materials and innovative construction technologies, giving Intermarine a leading position in the market of FRP military vessels.

Since 2002, when it became part of the Rodriquez Cantieri Navali Group, a world leader in the field of high-speed transportation, Intermarine has further increased its product portfolio by adding steel and aluminium vessels designed and built in cooperation with the parent company.

The Rodriquez Group operates four production facilities, located on the west coast of Italy; this allows Intermarine to have an unbeatable production flexibility.

The product portfolio of Intermarine today includes:

• FRP and aluminium Fast Patrol Boats (FPBs)
• FRP Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs)
• FRP hydro-oceanographic ships

Intermarine is today among the most important military shipbuilders in the world, and the clearest indication of this is that its products have been approved and adopted both by prestigious navies (such as those of Australia, Finland, Italy and the USA) and paramilitary organisations (such as coastguards and customs police forces).

MINE COUNTERMEASURE VESSELS

Intermarine is renowned worldwide for the design and production of MCMVs in Glassfibre Reinforced Plastic (GRP).

Intermarine has developed a unique construction technique, based on building the hull without any transversal or longitudinal reinforcement. The strength of the single-skin monocoque structure is guaranteed by an extremely thick laminated structure.

By being constructed in this way, the hull structure is both capable of maximum exploitation of the intrinsic elasticity of the GRP material, and flexible enough to elastically absorb the energy released by an underwater explosion of a mine without damage to personnel or installed equipment.

Such superior shock resistance also allows the vessel's crew to safely bring the hunting equipment as close as possible to the potential threat, maximising its efficiency.

A clear demonstration of the validity of the structural concept developed by Intermarine is the fact that so far Intermarine has – either directly or through licenses granted to its partners – built 38 minehunters in seven different variants for six navies. Three additional innovative vessels are also currently under construction for a seventh customer, the Finnish Navy.

• Australia (Huon Class, six units)
• Finland (MCMV 2010 Class, three units under construction)
• Italy (Lerici and Gaeta Class, four plus eight units)
• Malaysia (Mahamiru Class, four units)
• Nigeria (Ohuè Class, two units)
• USA (Osprey Class, 12 units)
• Thailand (Lat Ya Class, two units)

HYDRO–OCEANOGRAPHIC SHIPS

These catamaran-type hydrographic vessels have been designed and built to fit the requirements of the Italian Navy: they have a length of 40m and a width of 13m, and can achieve a speed in excess of 13 knots.

The ships are propelled by a diesel-electric propulsion system acting on two stern revolving thrusters and two bow thrusters (to achieve the required level of precise navigation).

FAST PATROL BOATS

Intermarine is deeply involved in design and construction of high performance FRBs, built both in aluminium and in composite material (FRP). Among them it's worth mentioning the following, which are currently under construction:

• V2000, a 13.2m FPB in composite material, capable of a speed of 45 knots
• V5000, a 16.5m FPB in composite material, built so far in four variants; it is capable of speeds between 32 knots and 58 knots (depending on the selected propulsion system) and can be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun
• 22m, a 22m FPB in composite material, armed with a 12.7mm machine gun and capable of a speed in excess of 30 knots
• CP25, a 25m FPB in aluminium, propelled by two lateral props and one booster waterjet; its speed is in excess of 35 knots
• MV85, a 28m FPB in composite material, built so far in four variants; it is capable of achieving speed of 40 knots to 45 knots (depending on the configuration) and is typically armed with a 30mm gun or a 12.7mm machine gun
• MV115, a 37m FPB in composite material, built so far in three variants; it achieves speed in excess of 35 knots and is typically armed with a 30mm gun