''Etna'' is an

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxili ...

that entered service with the

Marina Militare The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the '' Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active pe ...

in 1998. She is designed to support fleet operations with fuel and dry stores. ''Etna'' is the single Italian vessel of the Etna class while a sister ship, HS ''Prometheus'', was built under licence in Greece and entered service with the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

in 2003.

Design and construction

''Etna'' is the fifth Italian ship to bear the name. She was ordered in July 1995, and was built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

at the Riva Trigoso Naval Shipyard. She was launched in July 1997, and underwent sea trials during November before delivery to the Italian Navy in February 1998. ''Etna'' is designed as a support ship able to supply a larger squadron at sea. As such, she has the capability to refuel ships, produce fresh water, and carry cargo. She has a cargo capacity of up to 5,795 tons of diesel fuel, 1,585 tons of aviation fuel for aircraft on

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s, 160 tons of fresh water, up to twelve containers, for about total 2,000 m3 of solid goods. She has a

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ste ...

of , and an overall length of . Her beam is , and she draws . She is powered by two Sulzer diesel engines, which drive two propellers through reduction gearing. This system gives ''Etna'' a speed of , though she has the greatest range () at a speed of .

Armament

''Etna'' is equipped with minimal armament and an

electronic warfare support measures In military telecommunications, electronic support (ES) or electronic support measures (ESM) gather intelligence through passive "listening" to electromagnetic radiations of military interest. They are an aspect of electronic warfare involving ...

system. The ship is also equipped with an

Alenia Marconi Systems Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) was a major European integrated defence electronics company and an equal shares joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica (now Leonardo S.p.A.) until its dissolution on 3 May 2005. AMS was formed in 1998 by ...

radar, a Selex command system and an Elmer MAC communications system.

Service history

In March 2011, ''Etna'' was deployed to the coast of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

as part of

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

, a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

operation to enforce an arms embargo on Libya. As of 2023, the ship is envisaged for a life-extension refit pending the arrival of a replacement vessel from the new

Vulcano-class logistic support ship The ''Vulcano'' class is a class of replenishment oiler used by the Italian Navy, with lead ship ''Vulcano'' of the class entered service on 12 March 2021. The ships are designed to support fleet operations with fuel and dry stores and expected ...

References

External links

Etna (A 5326)
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Etna (A5326) Auxiliary ships of the Italian Navy 1997 ships Ships built by Cantieri Navali del Tirreno e Riuniti