The delivery of the corvette “Semaisma”, the fourth and last of the Al Zubarah-class ordered to Fincantieri by the Qatari Ministry of Defence within the national naval acquisition program, took place today at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard. All four of the Al Zubarah-class will serve as the backbone of the Qatari Emiri Navy. Sumaysima’s first steel was cut on 18 September 2018 and laid down on 13 February 2021 at Fincantieri shipyard in Muggiano, Italy. She was launched on 29 March 2022.
The ceremony was attended by, among others, by Staff Major General (Sea) Abdullah Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Commander of Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, H.E. Khalid bin Yousef Al-Sada, the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Italy, Major General Hassan Rashid Al Ali, Head of Qatar Armed Forces Projects, Staff Major General Hilal Al Muhannadi, Defense Attaché of the State of Qatar in Rome, Vice Admiral Salvatore Vitiello, Commanding Officer of Italian Navy Logistic Command and Naval Equipment Inspector, and Dario Deste, General Manager Naval Vessels Division of Fincantieri.
The Al Zubarah-class corvettes, will be highly flexible and capable of fulfilling different kinds of tasks, from surveillance with sea rescue capacities to being fighting vessels. The Doha-class corvettes will primary serve for air defense missions and therefore will have a very substantial firepower for their size. They will be fitted with 16 Aster 30 Block 1NT surface-to-air missiles , 8 Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles, a 76mm main gun, 2 Marlins remote weapons stations, torpedo tubes a RAM launcher (21 missiles) and 4 Sylena Mk2 decoy launchers.
The ship designed consistent with the RINAMIL rules. Furthermore, the corvettes will be capable of operating high-speed boats such as RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) through lateral cranes or a hauling ramp located at the far stern. The flight deck and hangar are sized for hosting one NH90 helicopter. They will be about 107 meters long, 14.70 meters wide, and equipped with a combined diesel and diesel plant (CODAD), with a maximum speed of 28 knots. The units will be able to accommodate 112 persons on board.
