The second Bibby semi-swath survey catamaran in operation

 

After the successful Bibby Tethra launched in 2011, BIBBY MARITIME ordered to SOCARENAM shipyard and to MAURIC naval architects, a new boat named BIBBY Athena that should have been in principle a sister ship. However, that not’s quite true...

Bibby Athena, optimized version of Bibby Tethra, for increased operational performances

The French Ministry of Defence (DGA) launched the public tender in order to replace its fleet of CTM built in the 80’s. 6 EDA-S will be in construction since the end of the summer 2019 in SOCARENAM shipyard in St Malo (France), and 8 more units are planned. The actual aim is to allocate 8 EDA-S in Toulon to be deployed from Mistral-Class LHDs, and 6 others in overseas territories directly from French navy bases (Guyana, Mayotte, Martinique, New Caledonia and Djibouti) restoring an amphibious transport capability. The 14 EDA-S are scheduled to be delivered over a ten year period.

Bibby Athena optimized for D’ROP innovative BIBBY ROV integration

There are other minor differences between the boats, and last but not least there is the d’ROP. This is an innovative development by Bibby Hydromap of a new kind of underwater survey vehicle that is able to follow the bottom of the sea at a certain altitude and to maneuver going ahead or sideways over the bottom. The boat and the d’ROP are moving in the same way, but one is at the surface, and the other is “flying” over the seabed. This system has a large autonomy and range, being able to work hours and days long……. This rather large UUV required an adaptation of Bibby Tethra aft deck with a large moon pool, and special plugs to be able to feed the d’ROP with energy and to process data in real time.

The new couple Bibby Athena/d’ROP is now fully operational bringing unmatched performance in bottom sea survey. The semi-SWATH design of Bibby Athena increases the efficiency of the d’ROP by minimizing its unwanted movement at the bottom due to the waves at the surface.

The Bibby Athena Christening ceremony took place on October the 20th 2014 in Boulogne, at the shipyard, in the presence of Sir Michael Bibby and the lord mayor of Boulogne, M. Cuvillier, former Ministry of transportation. The traditional British wet atmosphere of the ceremony itself that you can see on the pictures was quickly forgotten when everyone joined the party after...