Its Morosini Port Call and Visit of the Italian Navy in Manila

The Italian vessel ITS “Francesco Morosini” will make a port call in Manila 7-11 July, 2023 as part of a fivemonth naval campaign in the Indo-Pacific region. ITS Morosini visit reinforces the cooperation between Italy and the Philippines in order to promote naval diplomacy along with freedom of navigation, respect for the international law of the sea and a safe and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

ITS “Morosini” mission purposes in Indopacific area are focused on promoting the international image of the Italian Navy and Italy as a whole but the deployment is actually also supporting a marine international research, conducted by two Italian researchers of the Italian Superior Institute of Health, aiming to collect biological and physical samples up to 100 meters depth along her cruise in some parts of the Indo-Pacific basins.

Entirely built in Italy at Fincantieri’s Integrated Shipyard, the ITS Morosini is named after the Doge of Venice who successfully commanded the Venetian Republic fleet in the XVII century in numerous naval battles against the Ottoman empire.

The Ship, formally a Multipurpose Off-shore Patrol Vessel, is designed with enhanced “dual use” features to perform both military tasks (including patrol, logistic transport and surface combat) and civil protection activities (wide range of containerized/palletized first aid delivery, fresh water and electricity provider, medical facilities, vertical lift transportation, wide band communications and embarked laboratories, sea pollution barrier and agents deployment, etc. The combination of new technologies and extensive use of modularity concept make this unit a cutting-edge engineering solution, a real Italian excellence.

The vessel features a peculiar wave-piercing double bow, reminiscent of the rostrum of ancient Roman ships, an engineering solution optimizing the vessel’s performances in terms of hydrodynamics and maximum attainable speed, with a significant reduction in fuel consumption. Other two iconic and innovative elements are the naval cockpit and the multi-clutch reduction gearbox which make the Morosini a real Italian excellence.

For the occasion, representatives of leading Italian defense companies such as Elettronica, Fincantieri and Leonardo will accompany the visit.

The Morosini measures 143 meters in length, 16,5 meters in beam, and 8,2 meters in draught. She has a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 kilometers) at 15 knots (28 kph).

The motto of ITS Morosini, “Ex undis signum victoriae”, refers to the destiny of this Unit, linked to the sea and the glorious deeds of those who in the past have built on the sea the success and the prestige of their own Homeland. The sea is the element that joins distant historical realities across time and contradistinguishes the human heritage of all seamen and the crew of this Ship.

On July 7 ITS Morosini will arrive in Manila together with a delegation of the Italian Navy General Staff lead by the Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy Fleet, Rear Admiral (UH) Fabio Gregori, arriving directly from Rome. In the morning, the Office of Naval Intelligence and Operation Fusion Center of the Philippine Navy holds a welcome ceremony to the both Italian and Philippines authorities.

A press conference will be held on July 8 from 11:00 to 12:00 aboard the Morosini with the participation of the Ambassador of Italy to Philippines, H.E. Marco Clemente, along with the Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy Fleet, the Commanding Officer of ITS Morosini, Local Media (upon registration at [email protected]) and Armed Forces of the Philippines’ house organs.

Selected members of the Italian and diplomatic community, as well as members of the Philippine Government, Congress and Armed Forces were invited on July 9 from 10:00 to 11:00 for a Holy Mass, that will be celebrated on the Ship for the Italo-Philippine community, as well as for a cocktail on board. For security reasons, participation to the reception is limited to the guests invited by the Embassy and the Commanding Officer of the Ship.

Other activities include a visit of the Secretary General Department of National Defense and a few friendly goodwill games on July 10 between the Morosini’s Crew and the Philippines Navy.

When leaving Philippines on July 11, ITS Morosini will perform a joint passing exercise (PASSEX) with a Philippine Navy Ship