New recruits for Ukrainian coast guard

In the presence of the Ukrainian ambassador, Vadym Omelchenko, BG 201 was launched in Sables d'Olonne on 9 December. This is the first of twenty patrol boats for the Ukrainian coastguard. The FPB 98 MKI aluminium vessels can reach 35 knots, have a range of 12 knots and can be in operation for up to two weeks. With a crew of 13, an additional six officers can be embarked. An optoelectronic monitoring system and a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) are part of the standard equipment. The shipyard delivers the boats unarmed. However, they are prepared for arming at a later date. This could result in a small-calibre artillery gun. The Algerian variant, FPB MKII, is equipped with a 30mm gun.

The procurement is based on an intergovernmental agreement concluded between Paris and Kiev in November 2019 to strengthen maritime security. The construction contract from 2020 provides for the construction of 15 boats in France. Five units will be built by the Nibulon shipyard in Mykolaiv with the help of Ocea. According to the Ukrainian government, the contract is worth 136 million euros. BG 201 will be delivered to its home port in spring 2022. Port of Odessa expected.

OCEA: well positioned in this segment

Founded in 1987, the OCEA shipyard with its 400 employees develops and builds aluminium ships up to a length of 85 metres. OCEA developed the FPB 98 series in the 2000s. Since then, 65 units have been sold. Forty went to Algeria. The last boat of the second tranche (of twenty units), "El Ramy", hull number 397, set off for its North African homeland in October 2021.

The shipyard in Vendée generates the majority of its turnover (2019: 136.5 million euros) abroad. To date, the shipyard has exported its constructions to countries including Benin, Indonesia, Nigeria, Suriname and the Philippines. At the end of 2019, the French shipyard delivered the world's largest aluminium offshore patrol boat to the Philippines (according to the glossy brochure). The "Gabriela Silang" from the OCEA OPV270 series is 84 metres long.

In April 2021, the OCEA-built research vessel "Rigel", KRI 933, which is operated by the Indonesian Navy, was able to locate the sunken submarine "Nanggala" together with the Singaporean "Swift Rescue".