The patrol vessel of the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Customs), OSUM (P.04), arrived yesterday afternoon at the port of Rhodes. As has happened in the past, the naval unit will operate in the Aegean Sea on behalf of Frontex within missions aimed at combating illegal immigration.
The new naval platform of the Guardia di Finanza, the first unit of the “Bandiera Class,” was recently launched by the Vittoria shipyard in Adria. With a displacement of 500 tons, a length of approximately 60 meters, a width of 9.5 meters, and a draft of 3.5 meters, it is the largest ship ever built for the Guardia di Finanza’s Naval Service.
The Osum is equipped with the most modern communication and radar detection systems, ensuring long periods of autonomy to perform maritime policing and surveillance of national and EU maritime borders, even under challenging weather and sea conditions. Thanks to its specially designed bow (the so-called “axe bow”) and innovative “green” diesel-electric propulsion, it can easily reach speeds of 18 knots and maintain an impressive operational autonomy of approximately 15 days of continuous navigation, allowing it to cover distances of about 2,000 nautical miles