France: DCNS Presents Software Expertise and Renewable Energy Strategy

DCNS has developed considerable expertise in maritime safety & security (MSS) software to improve the efficiency of maritime rescue missions, shipping traffic management and pollution prevention and control.

DCNS also positions itself as a world leader in marine renewable energies On Thursday 6 June 2013, Frédéric Cuvillier, France’s Minister for Transport, Sea and Fisheries, paid tribute to this work while touring the Group’s Le Mourillon centre in southern France, where around 1,000 engineers and technicians develop advanced systems and solutions.

Over the past year, DCNS has rolled out the Marylin software suite to all CROSS maritime search & rescue centres in metropolitan France, and will soon begin work at CROSS centres in French overseas departments and territories. The suite significantly enhances the efficiency of maritime SAR missions while improving coordination with the various administrations involved in State actions at sea, including the Navy, the Department of Maritime Affairs, and law enforcement, civil security and customs agencies.

Marylin was developed in close collaboration with CROSS operational teams to meet needs identified by the Department of Maritime Affairs. With the new software suite, CROSS personnel can quickly analyse all the data available for each SAR situation. Marylin also helps to improve response team coordination and interaction. The solution monitors all the types of situations faced by CROSS centres and helps personnel to organise the most appropriate response as quickly as possible.

DCNS is also coordinating the European Commission’s four-year I2Cresearch programme, which was launched in October 2010 and involves contributions by 20 European industry partners. The aim of the programme is to develop a large-scale integrated system to ensure continuous shipping surveillance, analyse abnormal vessel behaviour (illegal fishing, people smuggling, drug trafficking, etc.) and provide decision support tools for system operators.

The success of the Marylin and I2C programmes has positioned DCNS as a leading player in MSS systems at a time when many countries in Europe and around the world are expressing interest in precisely this type of solution. The worldwide MSS market offers the Group an excellent opportunity for growth and to build on its proven strengths in developing combat systems for surface combatants and submarines.

DCNS project teams draw on strong in-house expertise in architecture definition, development of real- time information systems, operational information systems and command information systems, and data network interoperability. The Group’s Le Mourillon centre employs around 1,000 engineers and technicians engaged in the development of advanced software systems.

On the other hand, benefiting from its 400 years of experience in shipbuilding and its knowledge of the marine environment, DCNS has the ambition of being a world leader in marine renewable energy and developing a dedicated industrial segment. The Group is investing in four technologies: Tidal energy, floating wind turbines, wave energy, and ocean thermal energy.

[mappress]

Press release, June 12, 2013; Image: dcnsgroup