VESSEL REVIEW | Amiral Jacques Meheut – Fast rescue boat to be deployed off southeastern France

The National Sea Rescue Society of France (Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer; SNSM) has taken delivery of the lead vessel of a new series of FRP-hulled search and rescue (SAR) boats designed for operation in inshore and coastal areas.

The newbuild is named Amiral Jacques Meheut after the late Vice Admiral Jacques Marcel Meheut, a former French Navy officer and long-time SNSM volunteer. It was built by French shipyard Chantier Naval Gatto to a design by naval architecture firm Mauric. The vessel combines a large enough hull to permit safe operation in rough seas with a shallow draught that allows access to otherwise restrictive inland and nearshore waters.

Long endurance coupled with high transit speed

Amiral Jacques Meheut has an LOA of 11.95 metres (39.2 feet), a beam of 4.2 metres (14 feet), a maximum draught of only 1.2 metres (3.9 feet), a displacement of 13.5 tonnes, a gross tonnage of 15, and space for four crewmembers plus 10 additional people (such as rescued survivors).

Two Caterpillar C7.2 diesel engines that each produce 330 kW (440 hp) deliver a top speed of 25 knots and a maximum endurance of eight hours even when operating 20 nautical miles off the coast.

First step in ongoing fleet upgrade

The wheelhouse electronics include a Furuno NXT radar, which can help make both navigation and SAR possible even under low-visibility conditions offshore. The wheelhouse itself is fitted with front windscreens that are slightly reverse-angled to help reduce any glare seen from the helm station, thus improving visibility.

Amiral Jacques Meheut will be operated in southeastern France, particularly in the waters off the SNSM station in Cavalaire-sur-Mer in Var, an installation that was co-established by Jacques Meheut himself in the 1990s. It replaces Cap Vigie, an earlier SNSM boat that had been in service for nearly 30 years.

The new SNSM boat will be formally named this April.