French shipyard group Piriou has recently delivered the 44-metre training vessel 'Almak'.
The delivery was commemorated with a launching ceremony held in Concarneau, France. According to Piriou, the vessel is the result of close collaboration between DCI and Piriou, which together created the company navOcéan in 2012 specifically to build a training vessel.
"The construction of the Almak is an ambitious project that has mobilised teams from Piriou and DCI for 12 months," said Admiral François Dupont, CEO of DCI.
"The first trainees will undertake sea-training on the MTV this autumn."
The 'Almak' will be used primarily for academic high-level training of foreign students organised by DCI in conjunction with the Naval Academy. With a small crew of eight people, this ship can carry a dozen cadets. It will do 35-40 weeks of sailing per year.
The 'Almak' can also be used to host student divers, as well as monitoring of mission zones and sea trials of field equipment.
Piriou and DCI designed the 44-metre x 9.6-metre x 3.1-metre prototype vessel to be a "new generation training vessel", specifically honed to be robust, manoeuvrable and with economical operating costs. On board, a wide bridge provides a full 360° view and features a complete navigational equipment package, including radar and cartographic mapping.
Also featuring replicators in the training compartment, the vessel's draught has been optimised for learning navigation and manoeuvring in coastal waters. Powered by twin 662kW engines driving controllable-pitch propellers, the vessel has a non-stop transit of ten days at 10 knots.