MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New “Scorpone” submarine for Chile.

Chilean Defence Minister Michelle Bachelet and the Commander of the Navy Admiral Miguel Angel Vergara presided last Friday in the christening ceremony of the first of two French-Spanish “Scorpone” class submarines in Cherbourg, France.

Once the "Bernardo O'Higgins" becomes totally operational and is delivered to Chile in the second half of 2004 it will be Latinamerica most modern submarine.

"This new submarine will help us keep our naval capability and readiness, and will also be more efficient since it runs with a smaller crew and has improved conditions", said Ms. Bachelet.

The Chilean minister also underlined that the current acquisition of submarines and the renewal of the Chilean surface fleet is "no arms race; Chile is committed to peace, we have no aggressive spirit and we have close cooperation links with our neighbours, particularly the Peruvian and Argentine navies with which we share a joint building program of frigates".

The Scorpane class "O'Higgins" is the first completely new vessel to be incorporated to the Chilean navy since 1984 and is described as "the best conventional submarine of our time".

The diesel-electricity propelled vessel carries a crew of 31, autonomy of 51 days and has been built with a shock absorbing "acoustic discretion" system that makes its underwater sailing particularly silent. The 1.700 tons and 66,4 metres long submarine can submerge to 300 meters and cruise at over 20 knots.

The "Scorpone" class is jointly built by Spanish Izar dockyard and the French Directory of Naval Constructions. Izar concentrates on the sub's propulsion and the French in the weaponry and state of the art equipment.

However the second unit "Carrera" to be delivered at the end of 2005, the final assembly and sea trials will be done by the Spaniards.

The two "Scorpone" class replace two older British built "Oberon" class that have been decommissioned.

Chile ordered the two submarines in 1997, involving 450 million US dollars, after a long bidding process.

Regarding the surface fleet, Chile is in the process of a renewal process that should end in 2012 with the purchase of three second hand frigates and three brand new ones. No final decisions have been taken regarding the builders.

Nevertheless Ms. Bachelet and her delegation after France will be heading for Plymouth to check on the second hand frigate purchased to the Royal Navy, the former "Sheffield" that has been named "Admiral Williams".