The Italian Ambassador to Oslo, Stefano Nicoletti, today paid a visit to the Italian Navy's Frigate 'Carabiniere' (F 593), belonging to the Fremm class, docked in the Norwegian capital's harbour.
The Italian ship is part - as the only one belonging to a foreign naval force - of the US Navy's 'Carrier Strike Group 8', supporting the mission conducted by the aircraft carrier 'USS Harry S. Truman', under the command of the US Sixth Fleet in the North Atlantic. The operation takes place in the Atlantic area of NATO responsibility, through presence and surveillance activities in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, to ensure the free use of the seas, with trade routes that are always open, safe and passable. Nave 'Carabiniere' plays a crucial role in defence against potential submarine threats, thanks to its high specialisation in this area, through the high-performance acoustic underwater detection systems with which it is equipped and which allow it to have and share with allied forces a clear situation even below the sea surface.
The visit to the ship was also attended, as guest of honour, by the Norwegian National Director of Defence Armaments, Rolf Kjos, and, representing Fincantieri and its Norwegian subsidiary Vard, Engineer Alberto Maestrini.
In his meeting with the ship's Commander and crew, the Ambassador emphasised that the mission in which the 'Carabiniere' is taking part constitutes 'significant proof of the remarkable operational capacity of our Navy and all its personnel in contributing to the defence of international maritime security, as well as its reliability in knowing how to operate in close coordination with the navies of allied countries'. Emphasising the growing importance of protecting the North Atlantic chessboard also for the security of the civil, military and energy infrastructures in the Scandinavian area, Ambassador Nicoletti highlighted the historic need for all the countries of the Atlantic Alliance "to adapt to the new scenarios, equipping themselves with modern and renewed military and naval means, capable of increasing their security and deterrence capacity in the face of increasingly high potential threats".
In recent months, Norway has also launched ambitious and demanding programmes to renew the equipment of all its armed forces, including a programme for the future acquisition of five new frigates and 28 other vessels for the Navy, for which, as Ambassador Nicoletti recalled, a significant contribution can be made by the Italian shipbuilding industry. This is also thanks to the contribution of the Norwegian company Vard, part of the Fincantieri Group, which with its shipyards in Alesund is able to ensure the design and construction of ships for both civil and military use of absolute avant-garde "capable of meeting with high appreciation from their respective clients, both public and private, in this country".
Nave 'Carabiniere' is a multi-mission frigate launched in 2014, the year that marked the bicentenary of the founding of the Carabinieri Corps, and with which it also shares the motto 'for centuries faithful'. A frontline unit, and delivered to the Navy by Fincantieri in 2015, it is capable of operating in a variety of contexts and carrying out a wide range of missions, from maritime surveillance to the three-dimensional defence of a force.
While in Oslo, the 'Carabiniere' conducted numerous promotional and interaction activities with the Norwegian public, including holding two open days where it was possible for the public to take guided tours of the frigate.
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