The Esmeraldas-class corvettes are a class of corvette in service with the Ecuadorian Navy, built in Italy by Fincantieri, entering service in the early 1980s.
Six corvettes were ordered by the Ecuadorian Navy from the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Navali Riuniti (CNR) (now part of Fincantieri) in 1978[1][2] or 1979.[3][4] They were a developed version of CNR's Wadi M'ragh missile corvettes built for Libya in the late 1970s, with more powerful engines giving a higher speed and revised armament and equipment.[2][5]
The ships are 62.3 m (204 ft 5 in) long overall and 57.8 m (189 ft 8 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) and a Draft of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in).[6]Displacement is 685 long tons (696 t) full load.[3] Four MTU MA20 V 956 TB 92 diesel engines rated at a total of 24,400 shp (18,200 kW) maximum power and 22,140 shp (16,510 kW) sustained power drive four propeller shafts, giving a short-term maximum speed of 37 kn (43 mph; 69 km/h) and a sustained speed of 34 kn (39 mph; 63 km/h).[3][4] The ships have a range of 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi; 2,200 km) at 31 kn (36 mph; 57 km/h), 4,000 nmi (4,600 mi; 7,400 km) at 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)[2] and 4,400 nmi (5,100 mi; 8,100 km) at 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h). The ships have a crew of 51.[3][4]
The ships can carry six Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles in two triple mounts amidships, with a range of 70 km (38 nmi; 43 mi), while a quadruple launcher for the Albatros surface to air missile system, firing the Aspide missile with a range of 13 km (7.0 nmi; 8.1 mi) is mounted at the aft end of the ship's superstructure, behind the mast. (No reload missiles are carried). An OTO Melara 76 mm Compact gun is fitted forward and a twin Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft mount is fitted aft. Two triple 324 mm torpedo tubes are fitted, capable of launching Italian Whitehead A244 anti-submarine torpedoes. A helipad is positioned between the Exocet launchers and the Bofors mounts, allowing a Bell 206 helicopter to be operated, although no hangar is provided for the helicopter.[2]
Sensors include a Selenia RAN-10S air/surface search radar, two Selenia Orion 10X fire control radars and a Thomson Sintra Diodon hull-mounted sonar.[4]
El Oro was badly damaged by a fire on 14 April 1985, and took two years to repair.[2] Two of the ships had their torpedo tubes removed for transfer to the two Leander-classfrigates purchased from the British Royal Navy in 1991 (BAE Presidente Eloy Alfaro and BAE Morán Valverde). It was planned to upgrade the ships' combat and fire control systems in 1993–1994, but a lack of funds prevented these changes.[4]
Three of the vessels of the class (Los Rios, Manabí and Loja) were refitted to extend their life by Astinave, being re-delivered in 2017–2018. Changes included fitting a locally developed combat management system called Orion.[7]
Baker, A. D. III (1998). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1998–1999: Their Ships, Aircraft and Systems. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-111-4.
Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-132-7.
