French cable systems provider acquires construction vessel

The purchase price for the vessel was US$6M, according to documents filed in US bankruptcy court relating to the sale of assets under Toisa’s Chapter 11 liquidation plan.

Built in 2011 at China’s Wuchang shipyard, Toisa Warrior is a VS 483 Mk3 design, with an overall length of 87.7 m, beam of 19 m and draught of 6.55 m. Propulsion is supplied by two six-cylinder Wärtsilä W6L32 main engines, each developing 3,000 kW at 750 rpm. Each diesel engine drives a 2,000-kW shaft generator and controllable pitch propeller.

ASN has renamed the vessel Ile d’Ouessant and moved it from the Bahamas flag to the French flag. Plans are to primarily use Ile d’Ouessant as a maintenance vessel for submarine cables in the Atlantic, replacing 1982-built maintenance cable ship Peter Faber, operated by Alda Marine.

Following conversion work, Ile d’Ouessant will operate in the Atlantic region by Q1 2020. The vessel will be managed by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, which manages the six-vessel ASN fleet.