Euronaval 2024 – Ocea showcases its new Avant-Garde FPB family, OSV 315 and OPV 230
Specialized in the design, building and support of aluminium vessels, Ocea at Euronaval 2024 showcased its new family of Avant-Garde fast patrol boats (FPBs), in addition to the new OSV 315 research and OPV 230 patrol vessels. Ocea has rapidly expanded since its establishment in 1987, gaining an important position on the international market
In the last two years, OCEA has delivered two 32 metres FPB 98 Mk I fast patrol boats and one 35 metres OSV 115 SC-WB hydro-oceanographic vessel to Nigeria, in addition to a total of 20 FPBs including 17 FPB 98 Mk Is and 3 FPB 110 Mk IIs for undisclosed customers which EDR On-Line identified as including Ukraine.
With four production sites in France and one in the UK, the Les Sables d’Olonne-based French shipbuilder has so far a total of 12 vessels under construction or under delivery, including six 8.59 metres river boats, 3 FPB 98 Mk II and two 35 metres FPB 110 Mk II FPBs, in addition to a 58 metres OPV 190, for a number of undisclosed customers.
New Avant-Garde FPBs design
Ocea began designing its range of FPBs more than 30 years ago. In the meantime, regulations have changed, with a strong impact on the weight and thus on competitiveness, according to the French shipbuilder. More than 110 boats of the same family have been sold to date, 80% of them being supported by Ocea services.
Benefitting from its policy of continuous and mastered innovation, the French shipbuilder has renewed its successful range of FPBs from 15 to 41 metres, unveiling at Euronaval its Avant-Garde design. The latter is based on customers’ feedback, as well as on regulatory and technological developments, these allowing to reduce the vessels weight by about 10%, with operational cost benefits. The new design features new hull forms with a distinctive bow shape leading to a significant saving in fuel consumption, and the consequent reduction of CO2 emissions, by 16% average. It presents boarding deck, aft platform, and fly-deck on each model of the new boats range, the capability to integrate a RHIB down to the smallest models of the family, and situational awareness systems including selected undisclosed UAVs, USVs and UUV/AUVs. The new FPB family can be equipped with remotely controlled weapon systems armed with guns up to 30 mm calibre, non-lethal acoustic cannon, running gear entanglement system and CERBAIR anti-drone system or equivalent. The new design, according to Ocea, allows to increase availability thanks to reduced maintenance time.
The new OSV 315 research vessel
Ocea has developed the OSV 315 multi-purpose offshore support vessel for the growing use of drones in operation, meeting customers’ expectations in terms of versatility, modularity and autonomy. Leveraging 35 years of experience in the design of OSVs operating worldwide, the OSV 315 comes in three possible configurations, SC-WB (Hydrography – Oceanography), MCM (Mine Countermeasures), and SARR (Search And Rescue and Recovery), without major modification of its general architecture. The latter includes a helicopter flight deck and large aft deck for accommodating a range of underwater and hydro-oceanographic equipment and a mission bay under the flight deck fitted with vehicle launching and recovery systems (LARS), alongside a centralized control room for the supervision of operations.
With a length and beam of respectively 95 and 5 metres, the OSV 315 is equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion based on four diesel generators and two electric motors allowing speeds up to 18 knots at full load and offering high redundancy thanks to multiple and capable gensets. With a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 10 knots and an endurance of 45 days, the OSV 315 has a crew of 70-80 and can accommodate 30-40 scientists with a complete suite in accordance with hydro-oceanographic IHO S44 regulation for the acquisition, post-treatment and edition of maps. The suite can include echosounders capable to operate at a depth up to 11,000 metres and an autonomous underwater vehicle that can reach 6,000 metres.
The new OPV 230
Ocea also developed and presented the OPV 230 offshore patrol vessel design that can conduct a wide range of missions, from police and law enforcement at sea to trafficking and illegal immigration control, from natural resources protection to SAR and natural disaster management.
With a length of 72 metres and a draft of 3.4 metres, the OPV 230 features a hybrid propulsion allowing speeds up to 28 knots and the use of electric motors for 60-70 % of the operating time.
The new platform design features a stern flight deck for a 5 tonnes helicopter and a covered multi-purpose area for containerized mission modules such as decompression chamber, diving room and detention space. With an external design and interior comfort in line with the OPV 190 and OPV 270 models, the latter operated by the Philippine Coast Guard since 2019, the OPV 230 features a full mission suite and armament centred on a Leonardo OTO Marlin 40 mm gun mount.
Images courtesy Ocea, photos by L. Peruzzi
