Damen to supply rudders and steering gear systems for future French Navy Logistic Support Ships.

According to information published on January 18, 2021, Damen Marine Components (DMC) has been awarded a contract by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique for the supply of rudders and steering gear systems for the future French Navy Logistic Support Ships of the class “Jacques Chevallier”.
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Artist rendering of future Logistic Support Ship Jacques Chevallier- class for the French navy. (Picture source OCCAR)

For each Logistical Support Ship, DMC will supply two Van der Velden® TIMON flap-type rudders including extended trunk and steering foundations, and two Van der Velden COMMANDER™ Rotary Vane steering systems along with the Integrated Logistic Support.

The rudder design is carried out by DMC’s engineers in Hamburg and will be CFD optimised for the ship’s operational profile, with special focus on cavitation behaviour, course-keeping and manoeuvring, essential attributes for naval vessels of all types and particularly for support vessels transferring fuel and supplies at close quarters whilst underway. This capability is due to their open flap linkage mechanisms and side bar flap systems with a 90-degree angle. They also emit minimal noise and vibration.

The Van der Velden COMMANDER™ Rotary Vane steering systems are also ideal for high performance, oceangoing operations. Designed and manufactured wholly in the Netherlands, they generate an equal high torque in all possible steering angles, and with only one rotating part is both highly safe to operate and relatively low maintenance. The systems being supplied to Chantiers de l’Atlantique will be fully compatible with the performance requirements of the TIMON rudders.

The Jacques Chevallier-class is a new generation of Replenishment Tanker ship built for the French navy by the French company Chantiers de l’Atlantique in collaboration with Naval Group.

In January 2019, French company Naval Group has announced an order for four Logistic Support Ships (LSS) and of their first six years of operational maintenance, as a part of the Franco-Italian LSS Program led by OCCAr*, the international Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, on behalf of DGA, the French Defence Procurement Agency, and of its Italian counterpart NAVARM.

These tankers, with a fuel capacity of 13,000 m3, have the mission to provide logistical support to the French and allied navies’ combat vessels. They will carry fuel for vessels, jet fuel for aircraft, weapons and ammunition, spare parts, as well as food. The ships will also be equipped with waste management solutions and repair workshops.

The design of the vessels will be based on the Italian LSS Vulcano (already under construction by Fincantieri), the first ship of the Italian-French Logistic Support Ship (LSS) program managed by OCCAR. The industrial organisation of this major program will mobilise the industrial capabilities of both nations.