VESSEL REVIEW | Céladon – First in new series of ship assist tugs for French Navy

French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered the first unit in a new series of 20 all-steel tugs ordered by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) for operation by the French Navy.

Celadon has an LOA of 26 metres, a beam of 8.4 metres, a displacement of 275 tonnes, a crew of four, and a diesel-electric propulsion arrangement consisting of two main engines, two Schottel azimuthing thrusters to provide enhanced manoeuvrability, and a bow thruster. The propulsion can deliver a bollard pull of 35 tonnes and a speed of 12.5 knots.

Piriou said the design work that went into the series also involved the use of a virtual model. Through this approach, the company was able to develop an ergonomic wheelhouse layout to better suit the requirements of the DGA.

The tug is also equipped with a firefighting monitor with a discharge rate of 600 cubic metres per hour. DMT Marine Equipment meanwhile supplied the towing winches placed at the bow and the stern. The electronics suite includes two radars from Furuno.

Construction of the series commenced at Piriou's Concarneau facilities before the end of 2020. The tugs are being delivered to the navy at a rate of four per year beginning in the summer of 2022.

Fifteen of the tugs – Celadon included – will be for harbour operations only while the remaining five will be slated for both harbour and coastal/offshore operations. Each of the five tugs of the latter variant will therefore be equipped with space for two additional crewmembers and greater capacity for fuel and provisions to enable sea voyages of up to five days in duration.

All tugs in the series will be used to provide berthing and unberthing assistance for the French Navy's larger surface ships and submarines. For handling submarines, the tugs will each be fitted with custom hull protection just below their respective waterlines.

Celadon will be homeported at the naval base in Toulon on the French Mediterranean coast. Another six harbour-only tugs and one harbour-and-coastal tug all from the same series will also be stationed at Toulon.

All 20 Piriou-built tugs will replace 22 older vessels that the French Navy is currently using for coastal towing and related duties.

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