Concarneau celebrations mark completion of hybrid icebreaker

Built by the Piriou Group, the vessel will carry out a range of operations in the Antartic Ocean and will take on the functions of two ships, a logistics vessel of the same name which previously shipped supplies to the French Antarctic base in the Adelie Land, and the patrol vessel Albatros, retired in 2015, which undertook sovereignty and patrol missions in the southern oceans.
The new 72m-long logistics and patrol vessel L’Astrolabe was designed by Marine Assistance, developed by Finland’s Aker Arctic and is Ice Breaker 5 classified. It can operate in ice of thickness up to 0.8m and can undertake missions lasting 35 days at 12 knots. A helideck, 35-tonne crane and aft gantry provide operational flexibility and the capability of undertaking one-off scientic missions. The vessel will be a unit of the French Navy registered as a "polar patrol vessel".
The L’Astrolabe has been built in an unusual partnership between the Austral and Antarctic French Territories (TAAF), the French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor, and the French Navy. It will provide logistics and support for scientific bases in the Antarctic from Australia for 120 days between October and March, and will carry out sovereignty missions led by the French Navy for 245 days a year, notably in the exclusive economic zones of the French Austral territories.