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Home» News»French Navy Final Loire-class BSAM ‘Garonne’ Enters Active Service
FS Garonne. French Navy picture
FS Garonne. French Navy picture

French Navy Final Loire-class BSAM ‘Garonne’ Enters Active Service

The French Navy (Marine Nationale) fourth and final Loire-class vessel, "Garonne", entered "active duty" (admission au service actif in French) on January 8, 2020.

Xavier Vavasseur 10 Jan 2020

This means the vessel is now able to conduct operational missions.

Also known as metropolitan offshore support and assistance vessel (bâtiments de soutien et d’assistance métropolitains or BSAM), Garonne was ordered in 2016 for the French Navy, designed and built by the Kership shipyard in Brittany.

Après le Rhône, la Loire et la Seine, le bâtiment de soutien et d’assistance métropolitain (BSAM) Garonne entre ce jour au service actif ! Polyvalents et endurants, ces bateaux ont déjà prouvé leurs capacités de remorquage, de surveillance des côtes et de dépollution. pic.twitter.com/mHZyfyasvU

— Chef d'état-major de la Marine (@amiralPrazuck) January 8, 2020

After the Rhône, the Loire and the Seine, the Garonne metropolitan support and assistance vessel (BSAM) enters active service today! Versatile and enduring, these boats have already proven their towing, coastal surveillance and pollution control capabilities.

Admiral Prazcuk, Chief of Staff of the French Navy

Garonne just completed its long cruise, a long duration deployment in the North Atlantic, to thoroughly check all systems onboard as well as train its crew.

About the Loire-class / BSAM

The first BSAM, the Loire, operates from Toulon; the second ship of the class, the Rhone, operates from Brest. The third unit, the Seine, is based in Toulon and Garonne is based in Brest.

Loire-class vessels can conduct a wide range of support missions: They were designed to accommodate divers, to carry weapons and ammunition, to support submarines and surface ships, to tow underwater antennas, as well as to deploy a pollution control dam. They have a towing capacity of 80 tons of traction, a navigation speed of 14 knots and a significant endurance of about 30 days (without refueling). They are fitted with an 8 meters boat, several RHIBs and a crane for loading and unloading containers.

BASM main caracteritics
Length overall: 70.30 m
Breadth: 15.80 m
Draft: 5.00 m
Displacement: 2,960 tonnes 
Dead-weight: approx. 1000 T
Loading area on deck: 250 m²
Speed: 14 knots
Hull / superstructure: Steel
Amenities: 17 (crew) + 12 passengers
Engine: 2 x 2 650 kilowatts
Generators: 2 x 300 kWe

BSAM French Navy 2020-01-10
Tags BSAM French Navy
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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