The Diciotti class is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 designed offshore patrol vessel, presently in use with the Italian Coast Guard, Armed Forces

Armed Forces of Malta

The Armed Forces of Malta is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval forces.- Headquarters, AFM :...

 of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and Iraqi Navy

Iraqi Navy

The Iraqi Navy is one of the components of the military of Iraq currently being reconstructed by UK-US Coalition forces in Iraq. Its primary responsibilities are the protection of Iraq's coastline and offshore assets...

. These ships are designed and built by Fincantieri

Fincantieri

Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. is a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is the largest shipbuilder in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest in Europe...

 on the bay of La Spezia

La Spezia

La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...

.

Italian Coast Guard

Based on the earlier experimental Saettia class, the Diciotti class is an advanced and improved version with a longer length, more power and hence greater patrol endurance. The vessels in service with the Corps of the Port Captaincies, are:

• Saettia class
  • Saettia (CP 901)
• Diciotti class
  • Diciotti (CP 902)
  • Dattilo (CP 903)
  • Fiorillo(CP 904)
  • Peluso (CP 905)
  • Corsi (CP 906)

Maltese Navy - P61

In 2003, the Armed Forces of Malta

Armed Forces of Malta

The Armed Forces of Malta is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval forces.- Headquarters, AFM :...

 ordered a replacement for the former East German supplied Kondor class OPV, required due to the increase in flow of refugees from North Africa to Europe.

The design for P61 provides a clear rear half to the ship, providing sufficient space with reinforcement to land a helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

, up to the size of an UH-1N Twin Huey

UH-1N Twin Huey

The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter that first flew in April, 1969. The UH-1N has a fifteen seat configuration, with one pilot and fourteen passengers. In cargo configuration the UH-1N has an internal capacity of 220 ft³ . An external load of 5,000 lb can be carried...

. P61 has the capability of carrying out patrols up to Sea State

Sea state

In oceanography, a sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, period, and power spectrum. The sea state varies with...

 5, and withstand sea conditions up to Sea State 7. It can launch a rib patrol boat via a rear launch ramp up to Sea State 4. This combination of modifications increases vessel weight to 450-tonnes, and reduces standard crew capacity to 25. Maximum unrefueled patrol length at 20 knots (39.2 km/h) is 3000 nautical miles (5,556 km).

The €

Euro sign

The euro sign is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone in the European Union . The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. The international three-letter code for the euro is EUR...

17m Euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

s contract, financed entirely from the 5th Italo-Maltese Financial Protocol, covered the construction of the vessel together with an associated training and logistic support package. The ship was commissioned on October 1, 2005 and operational from November 5, 2005. P61 acts as the flagship of the Armed Forces of Malta.

Iraq - Saettia MK4 class

In 2006, the new Iraqi Navy

Iraqi Navy

The Iraqi Navy is one of the components of the military of Iraq currently being reconstructed by UK-US Coalition forces in Iraq. Its primary responsibilities are the protection of Iraq's coastline and offshore assets...

 signed a contract with the Italian Government to purchase 4 modified Diciotti class vessels to patrol its 58kilometre coast line.

The vessels are to be built by Fincantieri

Fincantieri

Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. is a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is the largest shipbuilder in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest in Europe...

 at Riva Trigoso, with modifications including increased crew capacity of 38. The contract also comprises the provision of logistical support and crew training with each crew completing a 7 week training course. In cooperation with the Marina Militare (Italian Navy)

Marina Militare

The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...

, each commissioning crew is provided with a week’s bridge simulator course at the Academy

Accademia Navale di Livorno

The Italian Naval Academy is a coeducational military university in Leghorn , which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy.-The Hospital of St. James:...

 in Livorno

Livorno

Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

.

In May 2009, the first vessel, Patrol Ship 701 named Fatah (Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 for Victory), was handed over at the Muggiano, La Spezia shipyard. The crew hand been training since January 2009, and would now be heading for Umm Qasr

Umm Qasr Port

Umm Qasr Port is Iraq's only deep water port, part of the city of Umm Qasr.Iraq's second port in scale of size and goods shipped to the port of Basra, it is strategically important, located on the western edge of the al-Faw peninsula, where the mouth of the Shatt al Arab waterway enters the Persian...

, a 20 day/5,000 nautical miles journey via the Mediterranean, Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 and Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

. There, additional training will be completed, before the vessel takes over duties from the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Marine patrols, who will then revert to a training role of new crew.