13. November 2013

Italian FREMM Frigate Bergamini casts off

On 13 November 2013, the FREMM First of Class General Purpose (FOC GP) frigate Carlo Bergamini joined the logistic support ship Etna, the patrol boat Borsini and the aircraft carrier Cavour in the 30th Italian Naval Group, committed until April 2014 on a humanitarian mission and the overseas promotion of “Sistema Italia" (system Italy).

The first Italian FREMM begins its 30 year operational life by circumnavigating Africa. Thirteen harbours of the Continent will be visited, with an additional seven stops in the Arabian Peninsula, five of which are in the Persian Gulf.

This extended period of exercise and operational activity will be used to prove the interoperability and to stress the reliability of onboard systems as well as to refine logistic support processes before the maintenance period that will be performed at the end of the first operational year.