The Esmeraldas-class corvettes are a class of corvette in service with the Ecuadorian Navy, built in Italy by Fincantieri, entering service in the early 1980s.
The vessels were built on the Type 550 corvette design, similar to the and s, built primarily for export.
Construction and design Six corvettes were ordered by the Ecuadorian Navy from the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Navali Riuniti (CNR) (now part of Fincantieri) in 1978 or 1979. They were a developed version of CNR's Wadi Mragh missile corvettes built for Libya in the late 1970s, with more powerful engines giving a higher speed and revised armament and equipment.
The ships are long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draft of . Displacement is full load. Four MTU MA20 V 956 TB 92 diesel engines rated at a total of maximum power and sustained power drive four propeller shafts, giving a short-term maximum speed of and a sustained speed of . The ships have a range of at , at and at . The ships have a crew of 51.
The ships can carry six Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles in two triple mounts amidships, with a range of , while a quadruple launcher for the Albatros surface to air missile system, firing the Aspide missile with a range of is mounted at the aft end of the ship's superstructure, behind the mast. (No reload missiles are carried). An OTO Melara 76 mm Compact gun is fitted forward and a twin Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft mount is fitted aft. Two triple 324 mm torpedo tubes are fitted, capable of launching Italian Whitehead A244 anti-submarine torpedoes. A helipad is positioned between the Exocet launchers and the Bofors mounts, allowing a Bell 206 helicopter to be operated, although no hangar is provided for the helicopter.
Sensors include a Selenia RAN-10S air/surface search radar, two Selenia Orion 10X fire control radars and a Thomson Sintra Diodon hull-mounted sonar.
Ships in the class
- Esmeraldas class Name Hull number Shipyard Laid down Launched Commissioned Status CM-11CNR Muggiano 27 September 1979 1 October 1980 7 August 1982 In service CM-12 CNR Ancona19 February 1980 9 February 1981 21 June 1983 In service CM-13 CNR Muggiano5 December 1979 27 February 1981 9 October 1983 In service CM-14 CNR Ancona20 March 1980 9 February 1981 11 December 1983 In service CM-15 CNR Muggiano 4 December 1980 4 July 1981 26 May 1984 In service CM-16 CNR Ancona24 March 1981 27 February 1982 26 May 1984 In service
Service history El Oro was badly damaged by a fire on 14 April 1985, and took two years to repair. Two of the ships had their torpedo tubes removed for transfer to the two s purchased from the British Royal Navy in 1991 (BAE Presidente Eloy Alfaro and BAE Morán Valverde). It was planned to upgrade the ships' combat and fire control systems in 1993–1994, but a lack of funds prevented these changes.
Three of the vessels of the class (Los Rios, Manabí and Loja) were refitted to extend their life by Astinave, being re-delivered in 2017–2018. Changes included fitting a locally developed combat management system called Orion.
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