TSAMTO, October 27. The Spanish government has authorized the Ministry of Defense to conclude a contract with Navantia for the construction of a ship to support underwater rescue operations BAM-IS (Buque de Accion Maritima de Intervencion Subacuatica) for the country's Navy.
As reported by Infodefensa.com, the cost of the order is estimated at 166.5 million euros. The contract will provide for the construction of the ship, as well as the purchase and integration of appropriate rescue equipment. The work will be carried out at the Navantia enterprise in Puerto Real, specializing in the construction of large displacement vessels.
Currently, for rescue and underwater operations, the Spanish Navy uses the rescue vessel Neptuno, whose service life is expiring. In particular, it is used to support mine warfare operations, underwater repairs, rescue of crews and lifting of submarines, diving, archaeological research, lifting of sunken ships, etc. The new ship will take over these functions, and will also be able to perform rescue operations for crews of NATO submarines and solve other tasks in order to ensure safety at sea.
According to Navantia, work on BAM-IS will provide about 1,100 jobs over three and a half years. In addition, it is expected that the project of a vessel providing search and rescue operations under water will be in demand on the international market, taking into account the increase in the number of submarines in service with the military fleets of the countries of the world.