French Navy to acquire new berthing support tugs

The French Navy has confirmed plans to acquire seven new tugs from local builder Merre Shipyard.

The tugs will each have a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, a length of 12 metres, and space for four crewmembers. These will be capable of a bollard pull of 10 tonnes and a speed of eight knots.

The tugs will provide berthing and unberthing assistance for the navy’s larger surface ships and submarines at naval bases in France as well as in its overseas territories.

See more stories from this month’s Tug and Salvage Week here.