Vestdavit has bolstered its position as a leading supplier of boat-handling systems to navies worldwide after landing a significant order to deliver multiple davits and painter booms for a series of Offshore Patrol Vessels  contracted by the French Navy at domestic yards.

The davit deal covers delivery and commissioning of a total of 14 PLR-5004-type davits, as well as 14 PBH-2500 painter booms, for the seven OPV newbuilds – two davits per vessel – that are being built as part of the French Ocean Patrol Vessel Program, or Patrouilleur Océanique.

The program, which includes options for three additional OPVs, entails construction of the vessels at the French yards Piriou, CMN and Socarenam, with deliveries scheduled to run from July 2025 to September 2029.

“We are very pleased and honoured to have been selected for this highly coveted multi-davit order, which underpins the valuable trust placed in our systems by Nato navies across the globe and further reinforces the well-proven reliability of our PLR series of davits,” says Vestdavit Managing Director Rolf Andreas Wigand in response to the contract win.

Tailored to specifications

Vestdavit developed the bespoke PLR-5004 davit for launch and recovery of RHIBs to meet the specific requirements and integration constraints of the Patrouilleur Océanique program outlined by the Naval Group during the preliminary study and design phase of the newbuild project, which is being implemented by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA).

The Norwegian supplier has now signed a frame agreement with the three yards for the davit deliveries, with Wigand attributing the award to “the robustness, high quality and flexibility of these davits proven in real-life naval operations, which has demonstrated that this is the best solution for this segment”.

Vestdavit currently has over 40 of its popular PLR systems installed on both naval and coastguard vessels operating globally – typically being used for naval offshore patrols, fishery protection and law enforcement, and search and rescue – as sales of this davit type have surged in recent years.

The PLR series is designed to handle efficient launch and recovery of a wide range of interceptor craft, such as MOBs, FRCs and smaller RHIBs of 2000-7500kg in sea states up to 4.

Advanced features in compact solution

The hydraulically powered single-point davit type is ideally suited to operations where high uptime and regularity are a priority.

An innovative wave-compensation solution incorporating a failsafe constant-tension system and shock absorbers ensures optimal safety for crew in deployment of craft and permits a wider operational window to extend the scope of duty in harsh weather conditions. This allows safe and efficient boat-handling even in rough seas while increasing operational effectiveness.

Efficiency is enhanced by high winch speeds of 50m per minute for lowering and hoisting of daughter craft, with deck-mounted guiding arms to counter pendulation during launch and recovery. The painter boom, which deploys a painter line for small boats running alongside the vessel, enables optimal positioning and safe recovery in variable sea conditions.

Given deck space is typically limited on warships, the PLR davit type is designed to be as compact as possible by using stronger and more lightweight materials and can be accommodated in an extremely tight boat bay.

The davit can be built to a modular, skid-mounted design for easy installation and maintenance, and can be exchanged between ships to meet changing davit requirements, with the ability to switch out removable components that enables upgrades for larger boats to ensure a future-proof solution.

‘Next level of boat-handling’

With its track record of continuous innovation, Vestdavit has also developed the Mission Bay solution using an inboard hangar with a track-and-trolley system for automated deployment of diverse craft – both manned and unmanned – required by navies to support multi-role capability for a range of missions.

“Mission Bay has already been successfully implemented in the offshore energy sector and this innovative solution represents the next level of boat-handling for warships to boost their capacity and flexibility, as we see increasing davit deliveries to this important market in line with expansion of naval fleets around the world,” Wigand concludes.