Based on the information available as of February 6, 2026, the most critical points revealed by this technical audit, requested by the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) as an independent evaluation:
General Conclusion of the Report: the Bureau Veritas audit is lapidary. Its main conclusion is that there are serious and essential breaches both in the deadlines and in the technical quality of the construction. The report validates the position of the officials of the Uruguayan Navy, who had already warned about discrepancies between the real progress of the work and what the shipyard reported to collect financial milestones.
Critical Technical Findings: The report highlights several technical irregularities that make the continuation of the project unfeasible under current conditions.
It was confirmed that Cardama does not have the main engines of the first OPV. The supplier (Caterpillar) canceled the contract with the shipyard. Bureau Veritas points out that without these engines it is impossible to close the hull and continue structural construction. Replacing them with another brand would imply redesigning all the detailed engineering of the vessel (weights, balance, vibrations), which would invalidate the plans.
The “false” keel laying of the second vessel, Cardama had notified the keel laying of the second OPV to claim a million-dollar payment. The audit found that this milestone was not technically met; It was a hasty maneuver (described as pieces placed “backwards” or without logical sequence) to try to collect, while the structure of the first ship is not even advanced.
The report observes that the construction criteria used are more similar to that of a civil “freighter ship” than that of a military patrol vessel (OPV), which compromises the quality standards expected for a defense vessel.
The lack of certificates necessary for ships to carry the national flag was detected, an administrative procedure that the shipyard should have managed and did not do.
Although Bureau Veritas’ focus was technical, its audit intersected with the financial crisis of the contract:
Invalid guarantees, it was confirmed that the guarantees of faithful performance and reimbursement presented (first by EuroCommerce and then by Redbridge) were not valid or belonged to companies without real backing (“paper companies”), leaving the Uruguayan State unprotected against the money advances already made for 28 million euros.
As a result of this report and the non-compliance detected, the decision of the Uruguayan government to unilaterally terminate the contract due to serious compliance is inevitable.
All pending disbursements to the shipyard have been stopped.
The Uruguayan State is preparing civil and criminal lawsuits to try to recover the money advanced, under the guise of alleged scam or fraud, given that the shipyard charged for milestones that the audit showed were not real.
The Bureau Veritas report acted as the “independent evidence” that the Uruguayan State needed to confirm that the shipyard did not have the technical or financial capacity to deliver the vessels, thus justifying the cancellation of the project.
UyPress – Uruguayan News Agency
The entrance Cardamagate, the final blow was first published in The Digital Echo.
