30^th June 2022

A christening ceremony of the Offshore Patrol Vessel, type OCEA OPV 150, named “GYPTIS” was held on Monday, 27^th of June, in Marseille, with the presence of her godmother Nathalie Simon, Mr Éric BANEL, General Director of the Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Vice-Admiral Gilles BOIDEVEZI, Maritime Prefect and Mr Christophe MIRMAND, Prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.

The GYPTIS is dedicated to State action at sea. She has successfully finished its first mission in the Mediterranean Sea aiming at monitoring and controlling the red tuna fishing campaign. Thanks to its well-designed aluminium hull, innovative diesel-electric propulsion and integrated solar panels, the GYPTIS has already performed beyond expectations in terms of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, with 50% less fuel used compared to an equivalent steel hull Offshore Patrol Vessel.

Commander Ludovic BOUTEILLON noticed that the vessel is capable of staying 14 days at sea and covering more than 3,000 miles on each outing, allowing the Maritime Affairs to expand significantly its operational capabilities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Éric BANEL, the new General Director of Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture, also mentioned that the GYPTIS “allows the Administration to be more modern, more competitive but also more efficient”. She is “an innovative, low-polluting hybrid vessel providing three times more presence at sea to better protect our seas”.

More information here:

• Marseille. Baptême de la Gyptis, fleuron des affaires maritimes (DestiMed)
• À Marseille, le « Gyptis » élargit les missions des affaires maritimes (ouest-france.fr)
• Affaires maritimes : le patrouilleur Gyptis inauguré à Marseille (Mer et Marine)