PIRIOU Launches ALMAK Maritime Training Vessel

Piriou group officially delivered the Almak, Maritime Training Vessel (MTV) of 44 meters, during a launching ceremony held in Concarneau (France) on Friday 27 September, in the presence of the painter Anne Smith, patron of the vessel and official painter to the Marine.

The Almak is the result of close collaboration between DCI and Piriou who created the company navOcéan in July 2012 to build an MTV. It took a year for the shipbuilding subsidiary PIRIOU Shipyards to build this ship since the first beam was laid in September 2012 in Concarneau (Finistere).
 
“The construction of the Almak is an ambitious project that has mobilized teams from Piriou and DCI for 12 months. It is a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that exists within the team. It is with great emotion that we leave Concarneau to sail to new horizons. The first trainees will undertake sea-training on the MTV this autumn,” said Admiral François Dupont, CEO of DCI.

The Almak will be used primarily for academic high-level training organized by DCI for foreign students and 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.

For Pascal PIRIOU, PIRIOU CEO “this ship embodies a strategic first step both in the field of shipbuilding in the defense sector and our ambitions for Global Service. Indeed, as for the ALMAK, we now integrate the design and construction of ships, being involved in the implementation of their funding upstream as well as providing maintenance through a program to Maintain Operational Condition (MOC) in France and overseas.” 

Close collaboration has enabled PIRIOU and DCI to design the prototype of a new generation of MTV, robust and maneuverable, economical in terms of investment and operating costs. A wide bridge will provide a full 360° view; for navigational equipment, including radar and cartographic mapping, will have replicators in the training compartment, the vessel's draft will be optimized for learning navigation and maneuvering in coastal waters. Autonomy will allow the non-stop transit of ten days at 10 knots. 

Main Features MTV

• Length 44.00 m; Beam 9.60 m; Draught 3.10 m
• Speed 12 knots
• Engine 2 x 662 kW propeller shafts and two Variable Pitch Propellers
• Crew 8 Passengers 16 students + 1 passenger Autonomy: 10 days / 10 knots

PIRIOU was created in 1972 to assist military equipment sales to foreign countries. Its main mission consisted of providing operational training courses based on the know-how of the French Armed Forces. DCI is an upper medium size service provider in which the French government is the concurring shareholder. DCI now operates throughout the defense and security spectrum. Culturally close to the Ministry of Defense, DCI offers outsourcing services to foreign countries, for: 

Consulting and assistance throughout the life cycle of armament programs.
Training engineering in the academic, operational and technical fields.
Lastly, DCI and its subsidiaries have been partners of the French Armed Forces for 10 years within the scope of service contracts and are endeavoring to extend their activities to European Union countries.