Vard Marine Inc. has been awarded the contract to design an Amphibious and Military Transport Vessel for the Chilean Navy by ASMAR Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Company. The ships will be constructed at the ASMAR shipyard in Talcahuano, Chile. These multi-role vessels will be capable of operating throughout the Pacific and Southern Ocean with services to include logistic support, search and rescue (SAR) missions, troop and asset movement and deployment, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations. The new vessel will be based on existing Vard Series 7 designs and will be specially adapted to the specific requirements of the Chilean Navy, incorporating the latest generation of integrated well-dock systems enabling the carriage and deployment of a wide range of containerized and vehicle cargo, landing craft, helicopters and rescue boats, for logistics, SAR and HADR missions.
Wade Carson, President of Vard Marine Inc., said: “This program will be our fourth successful collaboration with ASMAR, including the design of the venerable AP 41 Aquiles, one of the vessels that, after an accomplished and storied career, the Escotillón IV Program will replace. Vard Marine has a long and successful history of designing specialized vessels tailored to meet unique combinations of user requirements and operational environments. This contract award is an important step in further solidifying Vard Marine’s standing in the global naval market as a proven designer of client-focused specialized multi-role vessels. We very much look forward to working with our friends at ASMAR Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Company in bringing a vital capability to the Armada de Chile.”
Vard Marine is a consulting naval architecture and marine engineering company with Canadian operations located in Vancouver and Ottawa, and American operations located in Houston, Texas. The company offers professional ship design, engineering, and shipbuilding technology services.
ASMAR is a Chilean state-owned company, operating in the shipbuilding and defence industries, whose main activity is to provide maintenance and repair services for the Chilean Navy, and for domestic and foreign vessels. In conjunction with this, ASMAR builds self-propelled and non-self-propelled vessels for the Navy and other customers. For this purpose, the Company is organized in three industrial plants located in Valparaiso, Talcahuano and Punta Arenas, with Corporate Headquarters located in Valparaiso.
