ROME — In a first for Italy, a historic local luxury yacht builder that has been bought by a Chinese state company is seeking orders from the Italian Navy for fast patrol vessels.
Ferretti, the Italy-based shipyard known for producing speedy motor yachts for the well-heeled, said on Feb. 3 it was launching a new defense division and hoped to sell vessels to the Italian Navy, Coast Guard and police as littoral missions grow.
State-controlled Chinese vehicle- and engine-builder Weichai Group, which took a majority stake in Ferretti in 2012, will invest €5 million (US $5.5 million) in the new division this year, said Ferretti Chief Executive Alberto Galassi.
Ferretti, which runs six shipyards in Italy, is a byword for Italian glamour and owns brands including Riva, which sold sleek speedboats to film stars in the 1960s.
Lately, the company has been modifying the hull of its Pershing 64 motor yacht to produce a demonstrator of a new fast patrol vessel that's expected to launch in May.
FSD195 will measure 20 metres in length, travel at 55 knots and offer 400 nautical miles in range. Company officials said balsa wood and carbon fiber fibre had been added to the fiber fibre glass hull of the Pershing 64, while two 1,900 horsepower MAN engines had been added and a floodable compartment design introduced.
The vessel will be fit for an Oto Melara 12.7mm cannon in the bow or a remote-controlled turret, weigh in at less than 40 tons and have space for up to eight crew.
The demonstrator is one of five naval designs planned ranging from 11 to 35 meters metres, with coast guards around the world, including the Chinese Coast Guard, seen as potential customers.
Ferretti's sale to Weichai follows a string of purchases by foreign companies of historic Italian brands. Aircraft-maker Piaggio is now owned by United Arab Emirates fund Mubadala and is set to supply is Hammerhead UAV — based on its P180 business jet — to the Italian Air Force.
Alberto Galassi, the CEO of Ferretti, was previously CEO at Piaggio and is linked to an Italian institution — he is married to the granddaughter of Enzo Ferarri, the founder of the car company.
Ferretti is not the first Italian luxury yacht-maker to seek synergies with defense work. Fincantieri, which has built aircraft carriers for the Italian Navy, also specializes in cruise ships and luxury mega yachts.
One Ferretti official said its new FSD195, despite or because of its naval level of protection, could well sell as a tender to the enormous yachts now being sold to Arab and Russian tycoons.
Meanwhile, China's Weichai Group is not the first Chinese company to eye the fast patrol vessel market. Other entrants included Strategic Marine Pty Ltd, Kingship and Zhejiang Hengxin. While all three claim to based outside of China, they are in fact Chinese companies with headquarters in mainland China.
Just as Ferretti pushes for naval business in Italy, a large contract for fast vessels has been formalized this month, but with a longstanding player in the market, Intermarine.
A specialist in building mine-hunting vessels using composite material hulls that which deaden vibrations from engines and can resist exploding mines, Intermarine has sold vessels around the world, including to the US Navy.
This month the firm confirmed it had been handed a €40 million contract with by the Italian Navy to build two high-speed vessels for special forces missions, which are being funded by a so-called Naval Law that which has freed up €5.4 billion for the purchase of new patrol vessels, a logistics vessel and a Landing Platform Dock.
Those vessels will be built by Italian yard Fincantieri, which has come under fire for lackluster results due to a series of unprofitable cruise ship orders and the poor performance of its offshore shipbuilding unit Vard.
But moves to drop long-serving CEO Giuseppe Bono may have stalled, it emerged this month.
Although the yard's owner, Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, was deliberating a new CEO this year, Italian media reports this month suggest Bono will stay on after a key shareholders meeting in May, albeit flanked by a new executive, named as telecoms veteran Corrado Schiolla.
Meanwhile, the firm has been quick to react to the lowering of sanctions against Iran. During a visit to Rome on Jan. 26 by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Fincantieri signed to start talks to reach deals worth $100 million, including one with state-controlled Azim Gostaresh Hormoz Shipbuilding Industry Co (AGH) to build new merchant vessels and offshore vessels and well as covering repairs and conversions.
Through its subsidiary, Isotta Fraschini Motori, Fincantieri also signed a cooperation deal with Iranian firm Arka Tejarat Qeshm (ATQ), to jointly offer 600 marine engines for small, fast vessels. A spokesman said all vessels covered were civil and not dual use.
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
