Last Monday 4th 2023, the Spanish Navy commissioned the multi-purpose ship ‘Carnota’ (A-61). The ceremony was presided over by Vice Admiral Ignacio Frutos, Chief of Ferrol Naval Base and Arsenal.
The ‘Carnota’, (formerly ‘Ocean Osprey’) was procured from a Norwegian shipping company. The vessel was built in 2014 in the Spanish shipyards of ‘Pasajes’ to provide support to the oil rings of the North Sea and operate as an offshore tug. The ship’s transit from Bergen to Spain was conducted by Spanish Navy personnel. At the ‘Metalship & Docks’ shipyard the ship underwent a series of modifications before being delivered to the Navy.
The ‘Carnota’ will be integrated into the Maritime Action Force as an auxiliary vessel performing multi-purpose missions and tasks.
The ship has been named after the city of Carnota located in the North West of Spain, whose neighbors provided assistance in the course of a rescue operation after the frigate ‘Ariete’ sank off the ‘Costa da Morte’ (Death Coast) in 1966.