Navantia Launches Fifth Frigate for the Royal Norwegian Navy

Released on Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The frigate F-314 "THOR HEYERDAHL" is the fifth and last of the series that Navantia has built for the Royal Norwegian Navy

Navantia has launched on 11st. February, at 17:12 p.m., in the Fene-Ferrol shipyard, the fifth frigate for the Royal Norwegian Navy, the F-314 frigate "Thor Heyerdahl", named after this famous XX centuryNorwegian explorer.

The launching has taken place as an internal work milestone, after the cancellation of the official ceremony, scheduled for 9th. February, due to the worst weather conditions. The Godmother has been Miss Elisabeth Heyerdahl Lampe, great grandaughter of the explorer, and has been attended by NDLO General Director, General Trond Karlsen, as most relevant participant from the Royal Norwegian Navy. As an internal event, Navantia has been represented by the Fene-Ferrol shipyard, Angel Recamán Rivas.

The keel of this frigate was laid last March and the ship is expected to be delivered in September 2010, finalising the programme for the construction of 5 F-310 class frigates. The contract was signed in June 2000, after an international tender, in which Navantia competed with the most important european shipyards, and was until the contract with Australia, the biggest exportation contract in the history of naval construction in Spain.