TRIESTE – Vard, a Norwegian company belonging to the Fincantieri Group, has been awarded a contract worth over 220 million euros to design and build two multifunctional vessels for the maintenance of buoys and lighthouses for Trinity House, the authority responsible for navigational aids in the United Kingdom.
The contract was awarded through a public tender and is part of the fleet renewal program of Trinity House, the historic institution that manages lighthouses and other navigational aids for England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar. The new vessels will replace the THV Patricia and THV Galatea.
The two vessels will be built based on the VARD 9 601 design, developed by Vard Marine in Canada in collaboration with Vard Design in Norway. They will be multifunctional platforms capable of performing buoy maintenance, hydrographic surveys, and emergency response operations, offering greater operational flexibility than the current generation.
From a technological standpoint, the vessels will be equipped with hybrid propulsion and battery-based energy storage systems, which will reduce fuel consumption and emissions, as well as enable zero-emission operation while in port. The project also includes provisions for a future conversion to methanol propulsion, with the aim of enhancing sustainability throughout the vessels’ entire life cycle.
The ships will also incorporate advanced digital systems and cybersecurity solutions to ensure the safety and reliability of onboard operations, an aspect that is becoming increasingly important for critical maritime infrastructure.
Fincantieri’s CEO and General Manager, Pierroberto Folgiero, described the contract as recognition of Vard’s expertise and the group’s leadership in the construction of complex ships. According to Folgiero, the program reaffirms Fincantieri’s commitment to developing technologies focused on sustainability, digitalization, and the resilience of maritime infrastructure.
The contract also includes a collaborative training program involving Vard, Trinity House, and Vard Marine Canada, with initiatives aimed at apprentices and students to promote the international exchange of expertise in the maritime sector.
The two vessels will be built according to Vard’s integrated industrial model and will be delivered from one of the group’s shipyards in Norway in the second and fourth quarters of 2029.
