The Romania Ministry of Defence (MApN) has cancelled the long-delayed EUR 1.2 Bn deal it had with France’s Naval Group to acquire four Gowind 2500 corvettes.
According to the DefenseRomania website the decision was approved on 7 August and covers the whole process, meaning that a runner-up bid by Damen of the Netherlands will not be considered.
The MApN was quoted as stating, “The decision to cancel the specific procedure was taken … since the tenderer declared the winner did not sign the framework agreement within the terms requested by the contracting authority and the funds necessary to declare the economic operator in the next place as the winner were not identified”.
Naval Group, teamed with local company Constanța Naval Shipyard, won the Romanian corvette contest in 2019, which would have seen four Gowind 2500 corvettes built in Romania, but a contract for the ships was never signed. Initially stalled by legal challenges, the deal became increasingly stymied by disagreements over rising costs.
The deal would also have covered the renovation of the Romanian Navy’s two existing frigates.
Romania has a 245 km-long coastline on the Black Sea that stretches from the country’s eastern border with Ukraine to its southern border with Bulgaria. Already tense in terms of security issues, the Black Sea has seen open conflict on its waters since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022: giving good reason for Romania to pursue stronger naval capabilities.
Peter Felstead
