VESSEL REVIEW | La Parisienne II – Compact, versatile cargo vessel for French Caribbean operator

ODC Marine recently delivered a new cargo vessel to Compagnie Saintoise de Transport (CST), an operator based in the French overseas island territory of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.

Designed by Mer et Design, the 26-metre-long La Parisienne II was built to serve as a multi-purpose cargo vessel with long range and the ability to operate in shallow waters. Of interest is the vessel's ability to navigate even in waters teaming with sargassum seaweed, which is common in the region where it is designed to operate.

"The vessel will modernise an existing cargo service offered by CST," ODC told Baird Maritime. "Specifically, company owner Herve Bonbon was looking for a multi-purpose vessel with a number of key features including the ability to carry 60 tonnes of cargo at speeds of 10 knots while incurring only minimal operating costs, a 10-cubic-metre positive cold hold, a negative cold hold, keel cooling for the engine and the generator set, and diesel cargo tanks to enable supply of other vessels."

The builder added that the vessel also needed to be capable of transporting vehicles in addition to other types of standard freight. This led to the incorporation of an aft vehicle ramp, lashing points on the cargo deck, and ballast systems to better facilitate the loading and unloading of cars and small trucks. A wooden floorboard 30 millimetres thick is also fitted to reinforce the deck while the vessel itself is made of aluminium.

The deck also has a 380V plug for use when transporting reefer containers.

"All these attributes enable the owner to conduct daily deliveries of various goods including vehicles and even frozen food products to other islands in Guadeloupe," the builder said.

ODC said the challenge lay mainly in incorporating the array of custom features requested by the customer while retaining the standard vessel design, which was necessary in order to control costs as well as delivery schedules. Fortunately, the builder used the work that went into La Parisienne II as a basis for further developing one of its existing series of vessels.

"Based on that model," ODC told Baird Maritime, "we developed our product range of 26-metre boats with 60-tonne cargo capacity and 22-metre boats that can each carry 40 tonnes. These models are now included in our cargo vessel product range."

Power for the newbuild is provided by a single Cummins QSK19-M diesel engine with a rated output of 596 kW at 1,800 rpm. The engine drives a ZF propeller and gearbox arrangement to deliver a cruising speed of 10 knots. A Wesmar 37kW bow thruster aids in close-quarters manoeuvring while the steering system is an electro-hydraulic setup supplied by Lecomble and Schmitt.

The electrical supply is courtesy of Optima batteries and an Onan 380V/48kW generator set. The vessel's deck equipment meanwhile includes a Quick horizontal electric windlass and a dedicated hoist for loading/unloading of the cold hold.

The electronics setup consists of radar, GPS, and an autopilot from Simrad, an Airmar depth sounder, and a monitoring system from Marinelec Technologies. Mäder water-borne paint is used on the vessel's exterior to ensure low environmental impact.

A Survitec liferaft is also available to ensure safe evacuations in the event of an emergency.

The crew of four are provided with facilities including berths, a mess table, a galley, a shower, and a toilet. Air conditioning is available in the wheelhouse and in all crew stations. Honeycomb panels are also fitted in the crew station ceilings.

Lastly, although it was built primarily for the cargo transport role, the vessel also has seating for up to 12 passengers.