Yards

RMC commences production of already third multi-purpose corvette in Rauma

The building of the third multi-purpose corvette started on Tuesday, the 26th of August, with the traditional steel cutting ceremony. With this, three of the four multi-purpose corvettes are now in production. The determined progress of the project is testimony to both RMC’s own capabilities and the seamless cooperation with the Client as well as the network of cooperation partners and subcontractors.

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) together with its subsidiary RMC Defence Oy is building four Pohjanmaa-class multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy as part of the Squadron 2020 project. The high-performance multi-purpose corvettes are designed for the varying conditions of the Baltic Sea, including ice operations. RMC has made significant investments and improvements in its own capabilities to facilitate the building of the multi-purpose corvettes. The corvettes are built in a closed special facility constructed specifically for the project to guarantee the required level of security and quality. The Rauma shipyard also fulfils the security requirements of Nato. The corvette project has refined collaboration with cooperation partners and subcontractors to an excellent level.

“The shipyard in Rauma has made significant investments, particularly in the 2020s, in the development of its production and the capabilities of the personnel, resulting in the shipyard becoming one of the most notable builders of modern ships designed to operate in challenging conditions and especially government vessels navigating in ice. We hope to play a strong role with our top-class domestic expertise also in icebreaker procurements in Finland as well as in international inter-government procurement projects. RMC can boast a very high level of capacity and competence”, says RMC’s CEO and President Mika Nieminen.

The building of the multi-purpose corvettes is linked to the more extensive strengthening of national security and development of performance. The production start ceremony was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Defence of Finland, the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command as the Client of the vessel, the Finnish Navy, as well as classification society Lloyd’s Register, and the management and personnel of Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC).

“The steel cutting of the third multi-purpose corvette is yet another important milestone towards outstanding maritime performance. The learning curve of the various parties in the building of the exceptionally demanding and complex military class vessel has been noteworthy”, says Brigadier General Engineering Juha-Matti Ylitalo, Deputy Manager of Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command.

The first of the multipurpose corvettes under construction was launched in May 2025. The vessel is now undergoing outfitting. The production of the second multi-purpose corvette started in October 2024 and at present it is at the hull assembly stage. The Squadron 2020 project is scheduled to be concluded in 2029. The direct employment impact of the project is over 3,600 person years in Finland.

“The Rauma Shipyard has an established network of cooperation partners and subcontractors, which is fundamental to the smooth and efficient execution of shipbuilding projects. We constantly review our operations together with our partners and subcontractors to further enhance smooth building project operations. We take pride in our competent personnel and the network of cooperation partners and subcontractors which is an indispensable factor of our success. RMC’s shipbuilding projects in Rauma provide wellbeing to the whole Satakunta region and more widely to Finland”, explains RMC’s CEO Mika Nieminen.

The overall competence in shipbuilding projects and an industrial approach give the Rauma shipyard a significant competitive edge. The key elements of this include effective cost and schedule management, strong development efforts, consistent in-house design activities, area-specific shipbuilding teams, independent steel production, work planning, and subcontractor management, as well as life-cycle services to vessels. The versatility of the high-performance multi-purpose converts, including high ice-going capabilities, makes them a world-class candidate for export. The corvettes are designed for the varying ice conditions of the Baltic Sea and RMC can offer top-level expertise in the construction of icebreakers.

In July, RMC announced forming a consortium with US-based Bollinger, Canadian Seaspan, and Finnish Aker Arctic. The objective of the consortium is to win icebreaker contracts from the United States.