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Lerici Class MCMV

The Lerici Class is world-wide renowned for being the first of a successful family of GRP (Glass-Fibre Reinforced Plastic) MCMVs built by Intermarine using its peculiar construction technique and technology. Coastal Mine Hunter, specifically designed to find, neutralize and destroy naval mines; is equipped with a deep sea sonar system that can be towed to a depth of 50 meters, and two Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), to survey and analyze objects sitting on the ocean floor to a depth of 600 meters. Is regularly used to control maritime boarders and for Search and Rescue activities.

Despite these specific features, the unit has been designed to perform "dual use" activities, usually in cooperation with public agencies, such as the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, the Italian Judiciary and other bodies, to survey the sea depths for ship or aircraft wrecks, historical finds, or to monitor marine environment. Thanks to a multi-place hyperbaric chamber and medical staff specialized in underwater physiopathology, the unit can be deployed on deep diving operations.

As of 1984 the mine countermeasure force consisted of four ex-U.S.AGGRESSIVE class ocean minesweepers; five ARAGOSTA class in-shore minesweepers; fourteen AGAVE class coastal mine-sweepers/mine-hunters. Most of these vessels were of wooden-hulled construction and dated back to the 1950's.

The “Lerici” class was created using a particular type of fiberglass called FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) and is the largest of its kind built in Italy. The FRP, unlike traditional materials, allows to simultaneously satisfy two priority needs for a minesweeper: an absolute non-magnetic, even with regard to the eddy currents induced by rolling and pitching (Focault currents), previously obtainable with wooden constructions, and a high antishock resistance previously only obtainable with steel constructions. The hull reaches maximum thicknesses of 120 mm and is considered to have superior characteristics to those built with transverse and longitudinal structures and with modular solutions, especially as regards resistance to underwater explosions and to

In the construction, in fact, a lot of account was taken of the anti-shock regulations, an essential fact for units destined to hunt mines and therefore also exposed to accidental explosions in their vicinity. For this purpose, the main diesel engine is suspended in a cradle independent from the hull, while the auxiliary engines of the generating sets and for mine hunting are located above the main deck, also to reduce the acoustic and magnetic signature. Motors and equipment are all made of non-magnetic and acoustically insulated materials.

The units of the “Lerici” class are equipped with a total of 4 propellers; one with variable pitch with 5 blades for the main propulsion and three with water jet (all adjustable and retractable ducted, two at the stern and one at the bow) moved by hydraulic motors for hunting propulsion. The latter are capable of delivering a total of 235 horsepower to give the unit a maximum speed of about 6 knots.

In addition to the normal navigation instruments (gyrocompass, soundings, log, radar, etc.) the “Lerici” class has a complete system of specific equipment including: integrated navigation and tracking system; radio-navigation equipment; variable depth minesweeper echogoniometer; automatic system for the identification and destruction of mines; telecommunications system including RX / TX / UHF / VHF / HF / MF equipment. It consists of four MCMVs, “Lerici”, “Sapri”, “Milazzo” and “Vieste”, all delivered in 1985.

Minehunter Milazzo, third of the four Lerici 1st series units, was launched on January 4, 1985, and delivered to the Italian Navy on June 27, 1987. The name of the unit comes from the city of Milazzo in Sicily, founded by the Greeks back in 716 B.C. when the first colonization of the island, and later conquered by the Romans in 260 BC. ITS Vieste (MHC 5553) is the fourth and latest of the Lerici class minehunters built at the Sarzana Cantieri Intermarine; launched in 1985 and delivered to the Italian Navy the same year. Minehunter Vieste is the second unit to bear this name. The first Vieste was a Crotone class minelayer, seized in Naples and sunken by the German Navy in 1943.

* Unit histories report the state the hull was "Set on" or laid down, the date of the delivery or administrative handover to the Navy, and the subsequent official handover of the Unit [also seen as "definitively delivered to the Navy"], which seems to represent the commissioning into service.