Piriou is awarded a contract to supply 20 Harbour and Coastal tugs
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) notified PIRIOU on April 30th and awarded the contract to supply a series of twenty 30-tonne tugs including 15 harbour tugs (RP30) and harbour and coastal tugs (RPC30), involving a firm order for four units and several optional orders including the related maintenance services.
CHANTIERS PIRIOU, holder of the contract, will build the vessels at its Concarneau site in Brittany, France, and will collaborate with its joint venture partner KERSHIP for project management. In-Service Support (ISS) will be provided by PIRIOU NAVAL SERVICES, the group subsidiary already in charge for the SSF-French Fleet Management Department of the ISS of the Brest naval base fleet through a contract which was renewed in 2019.
These future tugs will be assigned to the French naval bases in Toulon, Brest, Cherbourg, Fort-de-France, and Papeete. They will support surface vessels and submarines, especially for berthing manoeuvres, and will be equipped with a 600 m³/h Fi-Fi system.
Following this notification, the PIRIOU group will begin building the first unit before the end of 2020 for a delivery during summer 2022 and will deliver four units per year. The RP30 tug, a 26m Escort class, is adapted to meet the specific requirements of the French Navy and the DGA, featuring a bollard pull of 35 tonnes.
The vessel’s key innovations and abilities include:
Manoeuvrability
Power management via DC bus powering the bow thruster, winches, and Fi-Fi pumps
Wheelhouse ergonomics developed using a virtual model
Two models offered: harbour and coastal
Vincent FAUJOUR, PIRIOU group CEO, stated: “This new order shows how PIRIOU can offer a global service through its different subsidiaries: design, building, and maintenance. This programme exactly meets our know-how and strategy: military tugs deployed all over the French territories in the world. We are very satisfied with being notified this contract when emerging from this lockdown period during which the PIRIOU group has not effectively completely stopped its activities.”
PIRIOU has been involved in shipbuilding, repair, naval engineering, and services since 1965. The company specializes in producing vessels up to 120 meters with high added value through a combination of high-performance engineering and a global network of industrial sites in Europe, Africa, and Asia. With over 480 ships built and delivered worldwide, PIRIOU provides bespoke solutions and a complete range of standardized or customized vessels that meet the requirements of international shipowners, whether private or public, civilian or military.
KERSHIP is a joint company founded in 2013 by PIRIOU and Naval Group, two experts in naval design, building, military systems, and services. KERSHIP provides vessels up to 95 meters dedicated to state action at sea for marines, coastguards, customs, and scientific institutions. With the expertise of its parent companies, KERSHIP supports administrations and military marines throughout their vessels' lifecycle, from building to delivery as well as from after-sales to In-Service Support (ISS).
This article was originally published on Marine & Industrial Report newspaper Vol 42 No.3 Issue last June 30, 2020.
