ITS Galatea (A5308) is the second unit of the “Ninfe” Class; she was delivered to the Italian Navy on January 10, 2002, along with her sister unit ITS Aretusa (A5304).

According to mythology, Galatea was a nymph, patron of herds, daughter of Nereo and Doride.

In the II Idyll, Theocritus relates of the Cyclops Polyphemus who, having been turned into a shepherd, tries in vain to win Galatea’s love through gifts and allurements.

In the Metamorphosis, Ovid talks about the Nymph Galatea who, in love with a shepherd called Aci, does not return Polyphemus’ love, and he, catching the two lovers in a tender attitude and blinded by jealousy, kills Aci with a stone. At that point Galatea, desperate for the loss of her lover, turns into a spring.

The myth of Galatea was depicted in two frescoes by Raphael Sanzio (1483 – 1520) and by Baldassare Peruzzi. Both works are now exhibited in Villa Farnesina, Rome.

The peculiar shape of the vessel, a catamaran totally built in Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP), was specifically designed to perform hydro-oceanographic activities. Harbor, coast and open seas bearings focus on updating the cartography of the Italian seas.

The main activities performed by this Unit are:

• Sea depth research by means of last generation echo-sounders;
• Detection of sank hulls or submersed obstacles, dangerous for navigation;
• Topography and geodesy of harbor and coast constructions, and coastal conspicuous points;
• Minimum sea depth research;
• Gathering of tidal oceanographic, sea currents and characteristic parameters of waters data;
• Nautical geographic information gathering to update the nautical records.

Moreover, the Unit cooperates with Public Authorities, National Research bodies, and with the Nurc (Ec Saclantcent).

The data gathered are checked and enhanced through the use of dedicated softwares. The results are then processed by the Istituto Idrografico della Marina (Italian Navy Hydrographic Institute) for the production of:

• Traditional and electronic Nautical Cartography for navigation safety
• Military Cartography
• Nautical, technical and scientific records useful to navigators.