Abeille Flandre
Encyclopedia
The Abeille Flandre is a high sea tug of the French Navy
. She is the property of the French private company Abeilles International, and had been operated by the French Navy
since December 1979.
She had previously been based in Brest
, where she assisted traffic off the coast of the region
of Brittany. The Abeille Flandre could set out with a 20-minute warning, or whenever winds in excess of 25 knots (49 km/h) were recorded in Ouessant. She was replaced at this station in April 2005 by the more powerful, 80-metre Abeille Bourbon
. The Abeille Flandre is now based in Toulon
on the Mediterranean.
French rescue tugs on government contracts operate under orders of the préfet maritime. If the salvage is successful, the French state earns half the value of the salvaged cargo. When the vessels are not required for government service, operators of can request of the préfet that they be released to perform private salvage and rescue missions. Rates for private salvages are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Fees are never charged to rescue people.
The Abeille Flandre is famous and popular in France
for her role after the sinkings of the Erika
and the Ievoli Sun
. Hervé Hamon wrote an homage in his book L'Abeille d'Ouessant.
Abeille Flandre sports the angled blue-white-red stripes of the ships of the public services at sea on her sides.
Abeille Flandre was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary "Wild and Angry Seas" released in August 2003. There are many clips from that program on YouTube.
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. She is the property of the French private company Abeilles International, and had been operated by the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
since December 1979.
She had previously been based in Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, where she assisted traffic off the coast of the region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of Brittany. The Abeille Flandre could set out with a 20-minute warning, or whenever winds in excess of 25 knots (49 km/h) were recorded in Ouessant. She was replaced at this station in April 2005 by the more powerful, 80-metre Abeille Bourbon
Abeille Bourbon
The Abeille Bourbon is a high seas emergency tow vessel , 80 metres long with a tractive power of , a crew of 12, designed by Norwegian naval architect Sigmund Borgundvaag. It was baptised by Bernadette Chirac on 13 April 2005 in the presence of its sponsor Jacques de Chateauvieux...
. The Abeille Flandre is now based in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
on the Mediterranean.
The Abeille Flandre is famous and popular in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for her role after the sinkings of the Erika
Erika (tanker)
Erika was the name of a tanker built in 1975 and last chartered by Total-Fina-Elf. She sank off the coast of France in 1999, causing a major environmental disaster.- Background :Erika was one of eight sister ships built in Japan...
and the Ievoli Sun
Ievoli Sun
The Ievoli Sun was a chemical tanker chartered by Neapolitan ship-owner Domenico Ievoli. On 31 October 2000, she sank at , approximatively 9 nautical miles off the Casquets in the English Channel, with a 6,000-tonne load, including 4,000 tonnes of styrene, 1,000 tonnes of trichlorosilane and 1,000...
. Hervé Hamon wrote an homage in his book L'Abeille d'Ouessant.
Abeille Flandre sports the angled blue-white-red stripes of the ships of the public services at sea on her sides.
External links
Netmarine.net http://www.ouessant.org/sitefr/trad/pag2ce.htmlAbeille Flandre was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary "Wild and Angry Seas" released in August 2003. There are many clips from that program on YouTube.