Page 75: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1995)

Seven orders for OPVs

Work is accelerating at the French yards of

Leroux et Lotz as the company announces that no fewer than seven orders for its latest design

OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) are in hand. This year the group, which comprises family-owned yards at Dieppe, Lorient, St. Malo and Nantes, is scheduled to deliver two of a three OPV 54 vessel order for its home navy and to commence deliv- ery of four OPV 64s for the Royal Moroccan Navy which will be delivered at intervals between 1995 and 1997.

Additionally, military department manager

Gerard de la Cochetiere confirms that two additional OPV 54s are to be built at the CMN yard, again for the French Navy.

Approval of the design has been swift indeed as all of these orders come with only one actually having been built and delivered to Mauritania last year. But Leroux et Lotz attributes much of the success to its 30 year long cooperation with

French Naval State Shipyards (DCN) on various projects for submarines, frigates, corvettes and aircraft carriers. Nonetheless, it is immediately apparent that, in keeping with trends through- out Europe's naval yards, the OPV range has been developed with two notable bonus factors: a competitive price tag and a multi-role capability.

Available in three lengths —177 ft. (54 m), 210 ft. (64 m) and 259 ft. (79 m) — each is suited to principal duties of general surveillance (200 nm range/20 days duration) and interception tasks, but can also be used for firefighting, pollution control and inter-island transportation. With steel hulls and light aluminum alloy superstruc- tures, vessels are capable of speeds from 22-27 knots depending on propulsion system. The

French Navy has opted for a CODAD arrange- ment comprising two 3,000-hp MWM 620-16s and twin 1,000-hp MWM TBD 234-12 Vs for 22 knots while Morocco, for its larger OPV 64s, has selected twin Wartsila Nohab 16V 25s, each at 5,200 hp, and two slow electric engines for a maximum speed of 22 knots and 6-8 knots loiter capability.

SKB buys Beliard Polyship

Belgian yard Beliard Polyship, threatened by closure during the latter part of 1994, is to commence building activities again in April following a rescue buy-out by fellow Belgian,

SKB. Leopold Longeville is managing director of the new company, which has been renamed SKB Polyship. He explained: "We will receive a most significant and vital start having been selected by the Belgian government to design and construct four of a new generation of coastal mine- sweepers for the Belgian Navy." Such news is, in fact, confirmation of an oft repeated rumor that the navy in- tended to place its order with Polyship — although this was insufficient at the time for its owners, the private company

Mercantile-Beliard, to consider keeping the yard and its workforce of 200 going. Naval orders are not new, as the yard was instrumental in the development of the Tripartite class of minehunter, so named because of the three-way involvement of France, Holland and Belgium, ten of which were built by Polyship and are currently in service with the

Belgian Navy.

Mackay

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