Ship & Boat International: eNews June 2020
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has ordered 15 harbour and five harbour/coastal tugs from domestic boatbuilder Piriou. All 20 vessels will be deployed at naval bases in the French cities of Brest, Cherbourg and Toulon, plus at Fort-de-France, Martinique and Papeete, French Polynesia.
Piriou comments: “The tugs will…support surface vessels and submarines, especially for berthing manoeuvres.” The first delivery is anticipated in summer 2022, and the yard intends to deliver four tugs each year.
The 15 harbour tugs will be built to the specs of Piriou’s RP30 class, and the five harbour/coastal tugs will incorporate the group’s RPC30 design. Each RIB will feature an overall length of 26m, an 8.4m beam, a speed of 12.5knots and a bollard pull of 35tonnes. Both the hull and superstructure will be fashioned from steel, and all units will be equipped with a firefighting system rated 600m3/hour. Each RIB can accommodate between four to six members of crew.
