Piriou has been awarded a contract by the French Defence Procurement Agency for the construction of 20 all-steel tugs in a series for the French Navy.
Each tug will have an LOA of 26 metres, a beam of 8.4 metres, a bollard pull of 35 tonnes, a speed of 12.5 knots, and a FiFi system with a rated flow of 600 cubic metres per hour.
Fifteen of the vessels will be for harbour operations only while the remaining five will be slated for harbour and coastal operations. All will be used to provide berthing and unberthing assistance for the French Navy's larger surface ships and submarines.
Construction of the series will commence before the end of 2020. The tugs will be delivered at a rate of four per year beginning in the summer of 2022.