The Freire Shipyard in Vigo has signed a contract with French ocean research institute IFREMER to build a new research vessel for the French scientific community.
This follows a public call for tender for the construction of an offshore research vessel, a Navire Semi-Hauturier – NSH – as defined by IFREMER).
The French-flagged oceanographic will have a length overall of 40.30 meters and low draft. The vessel will be deployed on a variety of oceanographic assignments in Atlantic coastal areas to serve the requirements of a number of scientific disciplines, as well as carrying out fisheries-related duties on the continental shelf.
It will have accommodation for a crew of twelve, plus ten scientists, with facilities for training and for students on board.
A wide range of energy-saving technologies and low-consumption systems are incorporated into the design, including the hull design, the design of the power plant, the power distribution system, the heat recovery system, the level of thermal insulation and the efficiency of air conditioning.
The diesel electric propulsion system will combine three main variable speed generator sets (suitable for operation on biodiesel), two shaft lines driven by electric motors and a DC electric distribution system, which together with a battery pack will offer efficient performance, optimised consumption, a high level of redundancy, and outstanding acoustic performance – not only in terms of compliance with BV COMF 2 class notation but also with DNV SILENT-F standard.
Dynamic positioning system and the electric bow thruster facilitate manoeuvrability. An oceanographic marine telescopic main crane at the stern is designed to launch and to recover scientific equipment and for general handling on the aft part of the vessel. In addition, the new IFREMER research vessel will have a type A stern gantry, a T-type lateral gantry and a telescopic rail beam for CTD manoeuvring. For fishing operations, this vessel will also be ouitfitted with two trawl winches and a removable net drum.
