The deal is a result of a joint evaluation programme carried out by the two companies, aimed at rationalising the simulation environment and significantly reducing the time involved in the overall design-to-manufacture process.

Under the new agreement the Fincantieri group will extend its existing simulation capabilities by introducing a multidiscipline solver, MD Nastran, a process management solution, SimManager, and the simulation process automation environment, SimXpert.

"We are confident that by standardising the company's new solutions we will be able to achieve the 50 per cent productivity gains that we are targeting within the group," said Giorgio Bacicchi, head of ship design integration at Fincantieri.

It is anticipated that the new software will be implemented within the next 3 to 6 months.