Stranded BAM “Tornado” (P-44) at Repnaval Zamakona

The port of Las Palmas has two shipyards of proven trust and solvency for the Navy: ASTICAN and Repnaval Zamakona, where the BAM “Tornado” (P 44) is stranded for maintenance tasks. This ensures the fleet's reliability and the operability of the units dependent on the Naval Command of the Canary Islands.

The construction of the fourth BAM was authorized on July 31, 2006, and the contract was awarded to the Navantia San Fernando shipyard, where the keel was laid on May 5, 2010. Launched on March 21, 2011, in a ceremony sponsored by Cristina Garmendia, then Minister of Science and Technology, it was commissioned on July 19, 2012, during the time of AJEMA Manuel Rebollo García.

Repnaval Zamakona is one of the leading companies of the Garaygordobil family, led by the entrepreneurial patriarch Pedro Garaygordobil — a businessman deeply rooted in the port of Las Palmas — who also owns two shipyards in the Basque Country, one of which is located in Santurtzi, a symbol of private shipbuilding in Spain.

Photo: Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo