VESSEL REVIEW | La Korrigane – French natural history museum's new research vessel designed for coastal waters

French shipbuilder Chantier Naval Glehen has delivered a new hybrid coastal research and training vessel ordered by the French National Museum of Natural History (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; MNHN).

Named La Korrigane after a famed expedition schooner from the 1930s, the new vessel was designed by French naval architecture firm Ship-ST to have a reduced environmental impact.

Optimised for sustained electric-only sailings

The vessel is made entirely of aluminium, 30 per cent of which is recycled. Two keels have been incorporated into the design to help minimise pitch and roll, allowing for a more stable platform during scientific research trips off the coast.

The vessel has a length of 15 metres (49 feet), a beam of 4.6 metres (15 feet), and a displacement of 25 tonnes. A hybrid electric propulsion arrangement includes an Iveco diesel engine and six batteries connected to a 60kW motor. The propulsion delivers a top speed of 10 knots.

The vessel can operate entirely on battery power at low speeds of around six knots for up to seven hours, thus permitting extended use even in areas with sensitive marine environments. Battery-only sailings will also generate little to no noise.

The MNHN expects to operate the vessel on batteries around 80 per cent of the time, as low-speed, low-noise sailings will enable more accurate data gathering during hydrographic surveys or when the onboard multibeam echosounder is utilised. The batteries totalling two tonnes will be charged via shore power connection at a dedicated jetty at the vessel’s homeport of Saint-Malo in Brittany.

Full suite of data collection and analysis equipment

The vessel will also be fitted with sail propulsion and PV panels to help further reduce emissions. The MNHN expects the use of two rigid floating sails will enable the vessel to consume 10 per cent less fuel.

The other key equipment includes an A-frame, a Furuno radar, a rotating gantry, a sidescan sonar, a thermo-salinometer, an acoustic Doppler current profiler, marine DNA analysis tools, a dive platform at the stern, two wells through which sensors can be deployed, a selection of winches, and a wet laboratory where the samples collected by the other equipment can be further analysed.

The four crewmembers have access to a cabin, a galley and a mess, allowing them to stay out at sea for extended periods. The wheelhouse meanwhile boasts improved all-round visibility and front windscreens that are slightly reverse-angled to help reduce any glare seen from the helm station.

La Korrigane was purchased with financial support from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Development of the vessel was a joint project between the MNHN, local institute Lycée Public Maritime Saint-Malo, and the Departmental Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture of Ille et Vilaine.