Bulgaria chooses naval repair and maintenance provider
Bulgarian Navy frigate Drazki, pictured in the Black Sea. (Photo: Dmytro Sergienko)
Main Bulgarian naval assets to be supported by Varna shipyard.
The Bulgarian MoD has sealed a framework agreement worth BGN515,500 ($299,000) with the Terem shipyard in Varna for repair and maintenance of naval vessels.
The four-year deal, posted on 7 January on the official EU contracts database, covers dock repairs of Bulgaria’s three Drazki-class (ex-Belgian Navy) frigates plus its single ex-Soviet Project 1159 frigate Smeli.
Also included in the framework agreement are the Project 1241 missile corvette Malniya; the Project 1241.2 anti-submarine warfare corvettes Reshitelni and Bodri; and the three Tripartite-class mine countermeasure vessels Tsibar, Mesta and Struma.
The Bulgarian Navy is in the midst of a modernisation programme that includes two new 90m modular multimission patrol vessels and the potential procurement of three or four more Tripartite minehunters.
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