According to information published by the Finnish MoD on September 22, 2022, the Finnish Navy's Katanpää-class mine countermeasure vessel Vahterpää is exercising with the French mine countermeasures vessel Céphée in the Baltic Sea afterward the French vessel will moor in Turku.
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French Éridan class MCM Vessel Céphée (Picture source: Finnish MoD)
MCM Vessel Vahterpää of the Finnish Navy will participate in the exercise. The training events include cooperation relating to mine countermeasure operations. After this, the training will continue with the Finnish Coastal Fleet in Turku harbour.
The Tripartite class is a class of minehunters developed from an agreement between the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A total of 35 ships were constructed for the three navies.
In France, the class is known as the Éridan class. Each hull was created from fiberglass, and molded into a steel shell. The hulls were 51.6 meters (169 ft 3 in) long overall with a beam of 8.9 meters (29 ft 2 in) and a draught of 3.8 meters (12 ft 6 in).
The ships had a standard displacement of 571 tonnes (562 long tons) and 605 t (595 long tons) at full load. This later increased to 625 t (615 long tons) at full load.
A 5.1 tonnes (5 long tons) container can be stored aboard the ships for additional supply room. The minehunters had an initial complement of 55, this was later reduced to 49.
The Éridan class is armed with one 20 mm modèle F2 gun capable of firing 720 rounds per minute to a range of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). The minehunters also mount one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun and two 7.62 mm (0.30 in) machine guns.
The French vessels have limited minesweeping ability and were initially only fitted with mechanical sweep gear. In 1985, the Éridan class received AP4 acoustic sweep gear.
Katanpää-class mine countermeasure vessels are a class of three multipurpose mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV) ordered by the Finnish Navy. The Katanpää class is expected to remain in service until 2040–2042.
The Katanpää-class mine countermeasure vessels are constructed of laminated composite materials. They are 52.45 metres (172.1 ft) long and have a beam of 9.47 metres (31.1 ft) and a draft of 3.15 metres (10.3 ft). The hull, decks, and bulkheads are made of fiberglass, which in places are up to 150 millimetres (5.9 in) thick.
The Mine Countermeasure Vessels will have a service speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) and a maximum range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi).
