Les Abeilles, an Econocom Group company wins the RIAS tender for 10 years

This success confirms the confidence of La Marine nationale in the human, technical and financial expertise of the company, which has been serving the State at sea for 40 years.

Les Abeilles, a company owned by the Econocom Group since September 2020, has been chosen by La Marine nationale (the French Navy) to continue the State’s action at sea, in the service of coastal protection and the rescue of human lives.

Following a call for tenders that lasted more than 3 years, this choice confirms the excellence of human, technical and financial know-how acquired over the past 40 years.

The call for tenders concerned the provision of consultancy and services in the field of intervention, assistance and sea rescue with the chartering of two dedicated RIAS tugs, for a period of 10 years and a budget of €120 million.

To this end, Les Abeilles will equip, from the first half of 2022, two RIAS ships with four complete, trained and experienced crews, ready to embark.

Under the impetus of the Econocom group, which is particularly committed to the environmental issues of the digital and maritime worlds, Les Abeilles has chosen to transform two ships. These will combine considerable propulsion power with great respect for the environment:

• Their bollard pull will be 280 tonnes, almost twice as high as the current RIAS.
• Their energy consumption will be optimised thanks to their hybrid mechanicalelectric propulsion. Their DNV Clean Design certification goes far beyond the applicable international standards for waste treatment.

They will be extensively refitted to meet the high standards of la Marine nationale (the French Navy) and the quality criteria of Les Abeilles in their future missions, as was previously done by Les Abeilles on the ship Jason. These ships will replace the two historic tugs Abeille Flandre and Abeille Languedoc.

“We are very proud to have won this contract after a difficult competition and in the presence of quality offers. The final award confirms our historical expertise in the world of towing and rescue on the high seas. I would like to thank la Marine nationale for its renewed confidence and the teams that contributed to this success. I would also like to thank Mr Jean-Louis Bouchard, Chairman of the Econocom Group and Ms Samira Draoua, Chairman of Les Abeilles. Their expertise and support were invaluable in winning this contract.” Pascal Potrel, Managing Director of Les Abeilles – Groupe Econocom.