Piriou Group has delivered the third and last of the OPV 58 S offshore patrol vessels for the Senegalese Armed Forces. The ceremony was held in the presence of His Excellency the Ambassador of Senegal to France El Hadji i Magatte Seye and Admiral Abdou Sene – Chief of Staff of the Senegalese Navy. The Group is thus successfully concluding a construction program that demonstrates the effective collaboration between the Senegalese Navy and the French industrial group and contributes to reinforcing Piriou’s position as a key player in military vessels shipbuilding industry.
The contract was signed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces of Senegal and Piriou Group in November 2019. The contract covered the acquisition of three 62-meter offshore patrol vessels dedicated to Senegal’s Maritime Defense and State Action at Sea. After the WALO, delivered in June 2023 and that reached Dakar in August 2023, and the NIANI, delivered in November 2023 and that reached Dakar in last January, the CAYOR now flies the Senegalese flag and marks the end of a construction program that has mobilized hundreds of employees over four years, representing more than 600,000 working hours.
Piriou’s President also paid tribute to the commitment of the teams from Piriou and Kership, the industrial contractor for the project, as well as those of all its partners, including Naval Group, who have all worked to ensure that this program runs as efficiently as possible. After a successful experience with the construction of the OPV 87 for Argentina, Piriou reproduced this industrial scheme and divided the production of the hulls for the OPV 58 S between its Concarneau shipyard and that of Lorient, where Kership, a jointly owned subsidiary of Piriou
and Naval Group, is based. Working alongside the French Navy and DCI Navfco, Piriou has also contributed to training and coaching seafarers in ship handover and the use of combat systems.
The OPV 58 S (Offshore Patrol Vessel) is a remarkably multi-purpose 62-metre patrol vessel. Robust and
long-lasting, it is dedicated to surveillance, identification, and intervention missions, perfectly suited to the
variety of missions related to law enforcement. In addition to its projection capabilities (commando boats), it
has a first-rate deterrence capability thanks to its anti-surface and anti-aircraft weapons systems. These OPVs are equipped with MARTE MK2/N anti-ship missiles offering over 30 kilometers range of strike and a fire-and-forget capability that will enable the Senegalese Navy to enforce its superiority. Immediate protection for the patrol vessels is provided by the SIMBAD-RC system, which can deploy two MISTRAL missiles, providing effective defence capability against anti-ship missiles, combat aircraft, UAVs, helicopters, and fast craft such as FIACs.
- Among innovations and major capacities, the vessel features:
- A versatile design to adapt to various missions
- A large panoramic bridge with 360° visibility
- A fast launching and recovery system for 2 RHIBs on the stern ramp
- A C-Sharp® hull for optimized autonomy and seakeeping
- A high-performance monitoring and combat system
Piriou is France’s leading independent private shipbuilding and repair group. Since 1965 Piriou builds high value-added vessels up to 120m in length, thanks to its high-performance integrated engineering and its sites in Europe, Africa, and Asia. With nearly 600 ships built and delivered worldwide, PIRIOU offers customized solutions and a complete range of ships to meet the needs of international private and public, civil, and military shipowners. PIRIOU has also demonstrated its ability to innovate and to contribute to the decarbonization of maritime transport with the introduction of wind propulsion, fuel cells and hybrid ships.
