NAVAL

BUILDING OF NEW SUPPLY VESSELS BEGINS

FRENCH NAVY

Construction of the first Franco-Italian Logistic Support Ship (LSS) for the Marine Nationale got under way with a steel-cutting ceremony at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique yard in Saint-Nazaire on 18 May.

The four replacements for the Durance class naval tankers are to be named after marine engineers. The first is called BRF Jacques Chevallier, after the father of French nuclear propulsion, who was responsible for the nuclear reactor which powered the first-generation Redoutable class SSBNs. The next three BRFs will be named Jacques Stosskopf, Emile Bertin and