Frigate sale to Greece turns Italy’s active warships into fast cash

ROME — Italy is to sell Greece two Fremm-class frigates which are currently in service with the Italian navy, marking a new chapter in Italy’s successful series of export sales to naval customers who need quick delivery.

The national armaments directors of Italy and Greece signed a preliminary agreement on Monday for the sale to the Greek navy of the Bergamini - a general purpose FREMM - and the Fasan - an anti-submarine variant.

Both were built by Italian state shipyard Fincantieri and have been in service with the Italian navy since 2013.

Fincantieri, which will handle the sale, said in a statement the final deal would also include a support package it would manage.

Greek media has reported each vessel will be sold for €300 million ($352 million).

A key selling point will be speed: the delivery will take a fraction of time it would require to build new vessels at a moment when Greece is seeking to respond to rising military tensions in the Mediterranean and rivalry with its neighbor Turkey.

The deal follows the sale by Italy to Indonesia and Egypt of vessels that were already under construction for the Italian navy.

When Indonesia signed a €1.18 billion contract last year to acquire two Fincantieri PPA vessels, Italy accelerated the deal by offering vessels already being built to fulfill the Italian navy’s own order for seven ships.

This year, Italy filled the consequent gap in its navy order book by placing an order for two more PPA vessels with Fincantieri which will be delivered to the Italian navy in 2029 and 2030.

Italy has previously sold two Fremm frigates to Egypt which were already under construction for Italy and close to delivery.

When they were sold they were promptly replaced by new orders to fill the gap for the Italian navy.

The Greek sale will not only give Greece frigates fast but will also allow Italy to order two newer, upgraded FREMM ‘Evo’ frigates to fill the gap left in the Italian fleet.