The EFINOR ALLAIS shipyard has just taken part in the inauguration of the STARESO (Calvi), a new-generation hybrid workboat designed to meet the most demanding scientific and environmental requirements. This project embodies a collective success, the fruit of collaboration between EFINOR ALLAIS, a benchmark shipbuilder, Profils, a naval architecture firm renowned for its rigorous, made-to-measure approach, and maritime expert François PREVOT, who steered the project in support of STARESO.
A historic player in aluminum shipbuilding, EFINOR ALLAIS has established itself for over 30 years as a specialist in high value-added workboats. Based in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the shipyard masters the entire industrial chain: design, manufacturing, technical integration, testing and operational support.
As part of the STARESO project, EFINOR ALLAIS was able to mobilize its expertise to meet a particularly ambitious set of specifications: to design a hybrid catamaran that is robust, high-performance, environmentally-friendly, and perfectly suited to bathymetry and marine environment observation missions.
"We entrusted the EFINOR shipyard with the construction of a customized, and therefore very specific, vessel for our oceanographic research work. From our first contacts, right up to our current support more than a year after commissioning, the EFINOR shipyard has shown us exceptional professional and moral integrity" - Gérard BONIFACIO, President of STARESO.
"This project demonstrates our ability to build innovative vessels, directly linked to the challenges of scientific research and sustainable development." - Christophe POIZEAU, Operations Manager EFINOR ALLAIS
The success of this vessel is also due to the quality of the design carried out by Profils, the project's naval architect. In close consultation with STARESO and EFINOR ALLAIS' technical teams, the team developed a tailor-made solution to efficiently integrate all the scientific equipment required on board a compact 12-meter catamaran.
Among the structuring choices :
High-stability aluminium shell designed to accommodate variable scientific and technical loads;
Winches and core shafts integrated from the design phase, facilitating sampling and probe deployment operations;
Optimization of the work platform to maximize floor space while ensuring safety and ergonomics.
This close partnership between builder and architect has resulted in a reliable, versatile vessel optimized for research.
A mobile, eco-responsible, high-performance scientific platform
Delivered in autumn 2023, the catamaran has already been able to take part in its first research missions off Corsica. Its technical features make it a true floating laboratory:
Hybrid diesel-electric engine, with lithium batteries and solar panels (10 m²) to limit environmental impact;
Instruments for bathymetry, sampling, multi-parameter probes, rosettes, ROVs, on-board cameras, etc. ;
On-board computer and autonomous solar-powered laboratory;
High-precision navigation and positioning system.
This global approach, combining energy efficiency, scientific modularity and maritime robustness, will enable STARESO to considerably increase its capacity to observe, map and analyze underwater ecosystems.
This project illustrates EFINOR ALLAIS's ability to design professional vessels adapted to specific uses, whether for scientific research, maritime surveillance or specialized technical transport.
EFINOR ALLAIS offers turnkey solutions that are robust and scalable, thanks to its integrated industrial facilities and a strong culture of collaboration (with Profils, but also with armament teams and end-users).
Following an order for three 22-meter vessels in 2023, Dynamic Marine Services has placed an order for four new vessels.
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