The president of the trade union, Marcelo Abdala, questioned the purchase from the Spanish shipyard instead of betting on the national industry.
The president of the PIT-CNT, Marcelo Abdala, criticized the purchase made by the State of Uruguay of two ships of the type Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) to a Spanish shipyard when, according to his understanding, those ships could have been built with Uruguayan labor. “There is a lack of head for national industry,” he said.
Finally, and after long trips back and forth with companies from different countries —such as China and Norway-, The government announced the acquisition of two OPV-type “zero mile” vessels for the The national army that will be oriented to the custody of Uruguayan waters. However, the news was not well received from all quarters.
In this sense, Abdala used his account Twitter to criticize the state measure, and stated that “unfortunately the purchase was made without considerations on the development of the domestic shipbuilding industry”.
“We were able to make a dredger to ANP, labor is available. Lack of head and will for the development of the national industry”, added the president of the PIT-CNT in this regard.
How are the ships that the State bought?
The minister of National defense, javier garciaannounced this Monday at a press conference that his portfolio had acquired two “zero mile” vessels of the type IPO by 82 million dollarswith the intention of defending maritime sovereignty through intensifying patrols in national waters.
“These ships will have the mission of regaining control of maritime space”, said García about the boats manufactured by the Spanish shipyard Cardama, which have a maximum speed of 24 knots and a capacity for about 80 crew members. These are economical and modern multipurpose vessels, which have a high degree of flexibility to carry out tasks at sea.
“Today the control of the maritime space was limited by the deterioration and age of the existing ships in the country,” García added. The government portfolio decided to take over the vessels for technical reasons and based on the requirements requested from the company itself. The national armysuch as the need to have weapons, a heliport, as well as other conditions for compliance with the mission of caring for natural resources and the repression of illegal fishing.
The vessels were purchased using funds set aside in the National Development Corporation (DNC) and in General Incomeand They will be delivered in the course of the year 2025. The offer from the Spanish shipyard was the lowest cost, of a total of eight received from different countries in the international tender, and also positioned itself as the faster delivery compared to its competitors.
Source: Ambito
