Intermarine, Gdf order boosts Messina shipyard's growth
The Intermarine shipyard in Messina is back in a national industrial perspective. The order from the Guardia di Finanza for two Guardacoste vessels, with a potential value of EUR 288 million, puts the Strait shipyard back at the centre of the high-tech shipbuilding industry, in a growth phase that intertwines defence, maritime security, search and rescue.
Intermarine is part of the Immsi group, listed on Euronext Milan and controlled by the Colaninno family through Omniaholding. The group has two production hubs: Sarzana and Messina. The former specialises in fibreglass and composite material vessels, starting with non-magnetic minehunters; the latter in high-tech aluminium and steel ships, up to 60 metres. Integration between the two shipyards is continuous: Sarzana concentrates a significant part of its military programmes, Messina works on fast craft and patrol vessels.
The Gdf tender concerns two naval units for an initial value of EUR 28.2 million, intended for maritime police and law enforcement activities. The contract provides for the immediate start of the construction of the first two vessels and an option for another 15 vessels, as well as logistical support, for a further EUR 260 million. The first vessels will be built in Messina.
For the Messina site, the workload can also translate into employment growth. The current figure, confirmed as union data, is that indicated by Fiom CGIL Messina: about 70 direct workers and about forty workers in the allied industries. Numbers that, with new orders, are destined to grow. In March, the president of the Strait Port Authority, Francesco Rizzo, defined shipbuilding as the city's 'genius loci' and raised the issue of attracting major industrial partners.
The Gdf order comes while Intermarine is developing other programmes. With Leonardo, in Rti, it has signed with Navarm the contract for five new-generation minesweepers for the Navy: 1.6 billion base value and about one billion in options. Intermarine's share is 1.165 billion, or 73%. In 2025, the company also won the Coast Guard's tender for multi-purpose offshore units, with a potential value of 130 million. The fast vessels Polaris and Sirius for Snav, Msc group, were also designed and built in Messina.
