In an event that marks a milestone in collaboration in the Chilean shipbuilding industry, Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada (ASMAR) and Astilleros y Servicios Navales (ASENAV) signed a contract for the manufacture of landing craft for the Escotillón IV Project. The signing ceremony took place at ASENAV facilities in Valdivia, consolidating a strategic alliance between both shipyards.
The agreement, which delegates the manufacturing of the vessels to ASENAV, is a significant step within the framework of the Chilean Navy’s Continuous National Naval Construction Plan. This plan seeks to strengthen the nation’s capacity to build high-quality and technologically advanced vessels, reaffirming Chile’s commitment to innovation and the revitalization of the country’s naval industry economy.
Contract Highlights
Within the framework of this public-private alliance between ASMAR and ASENAV, the construction contract will boost the activity of both shipyards in a joint effort to strengthen the national naval industry.
Regarding this milestone, ASMAR Director, Rear Admiral Jaime Sotomayor, stated that “within the framework of the National Continuous Naval Construction Plan and in the search for the integration of the national industry to achieve the materialization of strategic projects for the country, we began this collaboration with ASENAV, which will allow us to enhance the capabilities of our shipyards, acting as an engine of national economic development.”
For his part, ASENAV General Manager, Heinz Pearce, highlighted that “this contract shows that in Chile we are capable of addressing any challenge in shipbuilding. In addition, this public-private partnership has a positive multiplier effect on the national economy, boosting the industrialization of the country and its regions, promoting the development of Chilean engineering. With this, this signing represents an important start under the guidelines of the National Continuous Plan for Shipbuilding, which integrates the capabilities of all the National Shipyards for the benefit of national maritime development.”
It is worth noting that the alliance between ASMAR and ASENAV consolidates the role of two of the main shipyards in the naval industry in Chile, highlighting their capacity to design and build high-quality ships, promoting a promising future for naval construction in the country.
Consequently, progress in planning to strengthen the participation of national shipyards opens a door to job creation, boosts R&D investment at a national level and also activates the economic sector, especially industries associated with the maritime sector’s suppliers.