07.02.2015 André THOMAS (le marin) - entreprises.ouest-france.fr

La deuxième édition du salon Euromaritime vient de réunir, durant trois jours, plus de 300 exposants, dont un tiers de sociétés étrangères, à Paris.

Plus de 5 000 visiteurs venus de 48 pays ont découvert, de mardi à jeudi, le dernier-cri des industries navales, qu'il s'agisse de navires de servitude, de pêche, de transport, ou des technologies de l'offshore pétrolier et des énergies marines renouvelables.

Dans le domaine des navires de travail civils, le paysage était jusqu'à présent dominé par les salons du nord de l'Europe. L'offre française est désormais plus complète, Euromaritime (doublé d'une série de stands dédiés au fluvial, en plein essor) venant compléter les salons Euronaval (consacré aux navires militaires) et Nautic (plaisance).

Pour relever ce pari audacieux, le Gican, qui fédère les industries navales françaises, s'est allié en 2013 au marin, hebdomadaire de l'économie maritime appartenant au groupe Sipa Ouest France. Les industries navales souffrent, en France, d'un notable déficit d'image, alors qu'en dépit de la crise qui frappe notamment la plaisance et certains armements de la marine marchande, elles sont en plein essor.

Le constructeur de navires militaires DCNS, malgré de mauvais résultats sur l'exercice passé, continue d'assurer un matelas de plus de 3 milliards d'activité, auxquels s'ajoutent le plan de charge bien rempli de STX à Saint-Nazaire et ceux des chantiers de taille intermédiaire tels que Piriou, Ocea ou Socarénam.

Technologies de pointe

Au-delà des constructeurs de navires, les industries navales ont affiché, à Euromaritime, un ensemble de technologies de très haut niveau : des équipements anti-piraterie (avec un étonnant nouveau système proposé par Sagem), des centrales inertielles pour la précision de navigation, des sonars, des robots sous-marins filoguidés ou autonomes. Sans oublier les systèmes de positionnement dynamique permettant à un navire ou à un véhicule sous-marin de tenir une position au mètre près au milieu de l'océan ; les bureaux d'études qui planchent sur les usines flottantes de production de gaz ou de pétrole ou des hydroliennes qui doivent être implantées, par centaines, au large de Cherbourg et de Brest.

Les perspectives économiques des industries navales ont suscité la venue de plusieurs personnalités politiques : le ministre de l'Économie Emmanuel Macron, le secrétaire d'État chargé de la Mer Alain Vidalies, le commissaire européen chargé des Affaires maritimes Karmenu Vella, ainsi que Marine Le Pen et Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

02 December 2013 by Guy Martin - defenceWeb

The Nigerian Navy will take delivery of a number of new vessels next year as it attempts to reduce maritime crime, oil theft and attacks on ships, according to its recently released Strategic Guidance document.

Vice Admiral Dele J Ezeoba, Chief of Naval Staff, said that on assuming office in October 2012, he was committed to repositioning the Nigerian Navy, improving capability for internal security and policing the Gulf of Guinea. As a result, a first Chief of Naval Staff Strategic Guidance document (CNS SG-01) was issued in October last year.

According to Ezeoba, 90% of SG-01’s objectives have been completed. Significant progress has been made on fleet reactivation and recapitalisation, with the availability of operational vessels increasing from 35% to 70% within a year, according to SG-02, released late last month.

Over the last year the Nigerian Navy took delivery of three OCEA patrol boats, three Manta Fast Patrol Boats and two Shaldag patrol craft. Construction is ongoing on two Chinese offshore patrol vessels, one of which will be built in China and the other to be completed at the Naval Shipyard in Nigeria. Nigeria’s naval dockyard is also building a 38 metre Seaward Defence Boat. The Navy is also refitting the NNS Ekun fast attack craft, NNS Ohue and NNS Barama minesweepers and will soon refit the NNS Yola and NNS Brass patrol craft. In addition, three inshore patrol craft will be reactivated.

On the operational side, the Nigerian Navy continued with patrols and reactivated a number of Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Centres and is setting up new sites to improve its maritime domain awareness. Operational successes listed for the previous year up to October 2013 included the apprehension of 33 vessels and 2 278 suspects over oil theft, the destruction of 2 417 illegal oil refineries, 137 barges and 2 032 boats, according to SG-02.

While Ezeoba said that the Navy can be proud of its achievements over the last year, there is room for improvement, hence the creation of SG-02. The Navy wants to clamp down on problems like oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, piracy, robbery at sea and attacks on ships. Ezeoba stated that solving these problems is necessary for Nigeria’s economic prosperity, as it relies heavily on its offshore and onshore oil reserves.

Strategic Guidance 02 expands on the previous document’s objectives, notably improving Navy capacity and domestic and regional security. Short term goals to be accomplished in the next six months include acquiring five K13 inshore patrol vessels, ensuring operational availability of at least four Navy helicopters, establishing a Fishery Protection Patrol Squadron in collaboration with the agriculture ministry, Nimasa and other stakeholders, and improving Navy logistics and training.

Medium term goals (over the next 12 months) include the acquisition of the ex-US Coast Guard cutter USCGC Gallatin, the completion and commissioning of the first Chinese-built OPV and domestic assembly of the second Chinese OPV, commissioning of the second domestic Seaward Defence Boat, completion of the refit of NNS Brass and NNS Yola and the refit of the frigate NNS Aradu, the fast attack craft NNS Siri, Ayam and Damisa. The refit of the fast patrol boat NNS Ekpe, Ekun and minesweepers NNS Ohue and NNS Barama are also expected to be completed in this period.

“All hands must be on deck to ensure the attainment of the objectives set out in this Strategic Guidance 02 in fulfilment of the desired end state of defending and protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity whilst contributing to the economic prosperity and national development of Nigeria,” Ezeoba concluded.

13 February 2013 defenceWeb

The Nigerian Navy has commissioned into service three OCEA and two Shaldag patrol boats during a ceremony at Western Naval Command Headquarters in Lagos.

The three OCEA FPB 72 Mk 2 vessels are 24 metre long coastal patrol craft with a top speed of more than 30 knots. The first commenced sea trials in March last year and all three were delivered in late September.

On September 4, 2012, Israel Shipyards announced that two new Shaldag Mk II Fast Patrol Craft were on their way to “an African customer for delivery to the local Navy.” This almost certainly was Nigeria.

During the commissioning ceremony on Monday, Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the vessels would be used to combat oil theft and other crime on Nigeria’s waterways. She is quoted by This Day as saying the government procured the boats because Nigeria relies heavily on resources from its maritime domain.

“I am personally delighted at what has been achieved [by the Nigerian Navy] and I urge them to continue to work hard so that we can see results,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “With the acquisition, it is to show that the president is totally behind the Armed Forces.”

The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Olusola Obada, was quoted by the Voice of Nigeria as saying the commissioning was another milestone in the Nigerian Navy’s history. “I am aware of the constraints militating against the Nigerian Navy's efforts to optimally discharge its statutory duties, especially in the security of the maritime domain. It is however gladdening to note that in spite of existing challenges, the Nigerian Navy has continued to do its best in safe-guarding the nation's maritime assets,” Obada stated.

The Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba said the Navy required at least 40 such patrol boats to effectively deal with maritime crime like sea robbery, piracy and oil theft. “Though the boats are small, they are fast. They are designed for security tasks such as interdiction, anti-smuggling, anti-illegal bunkering, sea robbery and piracy.”

Ezeoba noted that eleven officers and 48 ratings have been trained to man and maintain the boats.

The Shaldag design is in service with the Israeli Navy and other customers in Europe, Asia and Africa. It was developed and built by Israel Shipyards Ltd in the late 1980s but upgraded over the years based on combat experience. The type is powered by two diesel engines driving two water jets, which give an acceleration time to 40 knots of 40 seconds. The Shaldag Mk II has a length of 24.8 metres, a displacement of 58 tons and a range of 650 nautical miles.

Standard equipment on most Shaldag versions includes an X-band surveillance/navigation radar and electro-optical sensor system for day and night surveillance. A number of armament options are available, including fore and aft deck guns, and heavy machineguns on the fly bridge. The guns can be remotely controlled (such as the 23/25 mm Typhoon and 12.7/7.62 mm Mini-Typhoon) or manually operated weapons. In addition, a 20-23 mm naval gun can be mounted on the rear gun mount or four to eight short range missiles can be carried.

The Nigerian Navy received at least two Shaldag Mk IIs in June 2009. It is undergoing major expansion, with new boats being built locally and overseas. In October last year, China’s Wuchan Shipyard began construction of the first of two P18N offshore patrol vessels for the Nigerian Navy. These vessels are 95 metres long and are being built by China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Limited, the trade arm of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). They will be delivered in around three years’ time and will be partly built in Nigeria.

Le premier patrouilleur nigérian réalisé par Ocea

crédits : BERNARD PREZELIN

07/03/2012 MER et MARINE

De nouveaux bateaux gris, de deux types différents, ont fait leur apparition chez Ocea, à Saint-Nazaire. Fin février, le chantier a procédé à la mise à flot du premier d'une série de trois patrouilleurs destinés au Nigéria. Portant le numéro de coque P175, ce bateau mesure 24 mètres de long et pourra mettre en oeuvre une artillerie mégère. Deux autres unités sont en cours de réalisation dans le cadre d'un nouveau plan de développement de la marine nigériane, qui porte également sur l'acquisition de trois patrouilleurs du type israélien Shaldag et deux patrouilleurs hauturiers (OPV).
Dans le même temps, Ocea réalise une autre série de trois patrouilleurs, cette fois pour le Bénin. Construit aux Sables d'Olonne, le premier de ces bâtiments, l'Alibori, est arrivé hier à Saint-Nazaire. Les deux autres, le Oueme et le Zou, devraient suivre d'ici l'été afin de recevoir leur armement. Ces unités sont directement dérivées des 20 patrouilleurs du type FPB98 MKI livrés à l'Algérie entre 2008 et 2011. Longs de 31.8 mètres et capables d'atteindre 30 noeuds, ces bateaux de 100 tonnes sont dotés d'un canon de 30mm.


Le patrouilleur béninois Alibori (© : BERNARD PREZELIN)


Le patrouilleur béninois Alibori (© : BERNARD PREZELIN)