French armament procurement agency press release
This order, worth more than €8 million, brings the number of units ordered to 22, for a total target of 29 units.
These tug-pushers are part of the renewal of the port resources of all the French Navy’s naval bases, as planned in the 2019-2025 military programming law.
The RP 10s will replace 35 older tugs with a thrust of 4 to 10 tonnes. More powerful and compact than their predecessors, these 12-metre long vessels with a 10-tonne pulling capacity have major advantages.
More ergonomic than their predecessors, they greatly improve the working conditions of their crews and are designed to manoeuvre the most modern military vessels, such as multi-mission frigates (FREMM) and Suffren-class nuclear attack submarines (SSN).
The contract for the RP10s was awarded by the DGA in December 2016 to the SEE Merré shipyard, which is acting in cooperation with two other shipyards, Chaudronneries Industrielles de Bretagne based in Brittany (West of France) and Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie.
Since the beginning of the year, the DGA has taken delivery of numbers 9, 10 and 11 of the series, assigned to Brest and Cherbourg naval base. Four other RP10s are scheduled for delivery in 2021, two of which are based in Papeete (French Polynesia) and two in Nouméa (New Caledonia).
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