Swedish SAR AW139 deal causes turbulence
Jun 19, 2015
The Swedish Maritime Administration’s 2012 acquisition of seven AW139 all-weather Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters has caused media commotion in Sweden lately. The Swedish television show Uppdrag Granskning (“Assignment Investigate”) aired an investigative program on 29 April, where it questioned some details in the one-billion-SEK public tender, implying that the deal could have been set up in advance.
On 17th of June the police, led by the Prosecutor’s chamber of anti corruption, did a raid at the headquarters of the Maritime Administration.
The Maritime Administration confirms that the prosecutor has requested to see all the material that has been provided to the television show. It says that, according to the prosecutor, the investigation concerns a chain of events and not an individual person.
“We welcome the authorities' initiative and are collaborating with the authorities to swiftly provide all the material requested," says Ann-Catrine Zetterdahl, Director General at the Maritime Administration.
Background
The Swedish Maritime Administration signed an agreement with AgustaWestland SpA for the purchase of seven new AW139 in October 2012. The helicopters were delivered between September 2013 and May 2015, and the first AW139 was deployed in active SAR service in April 2014. The new helicopter type, which has replaced the Sikorsky S-76C+/C++, is now serving Umeå, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Ronneby, with the Visby SAR station expecting its AW139 soon.
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