Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a
shipyard in
Saint-Nazaire,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near
Nantes, at the mouth of the
Loire river
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...
and the deep waters of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, which make the sailing of large ships in and out of the shipyards easy.
The shipyard was owned by
Alstom from 1976 onwards, became Alstom-Atlantique, and was later part of
Aker Yards
Aker may refer to:
Places
* Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway
* Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Aker Br ...
when
Aker Group acquired the Alstom Marine business in 2006.
[ In 2008, the South Korean company ]STX Corporation
STX Corporation (Hangul: 에스티엑스) is a publicly held South Korean holding company engaged in the provision of trading services. Headquartered in Gyeongsangnamdo, South Korea, the company operates its business through two divisions: trade ...
acquired Aker Yards, and the shipyard became part of STX Europe (formed by the renaming of Aker Yards).[
After the bankruptcy of STX Corporation, the shipyard was acquired by the French government and reverted to its original name of Chantiers de l'Atlantique.
]
History
The current Chantiers de l'Atlantique yard evolved from the Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, famous for building the transatlantic liners: ''France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
'', ''Ile de France
Ile may refer to:
* iLe, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino acid
* Another ...
'', and '' Normandie''.
It was renamed to its current name in 1955 by the merger of Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire
Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire (ACL) was a French shipbuilding company of the late 19th and early 20th century. The name translates roughly to English as "Workshops and Shipyard of the Loire".
Early years
In the eighteenth century Nantes h ...
and Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët. In 1961, it built the transatlantic ocean liner , the world's longest passenger vessel only overall, but not at the waterline. After the construction of the last Compagnie Générale Transatlantique liner and the closure of the Suez Canal, the yard began building large tankers, including ''Batillus
''Batillus'' was a supertanker built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. The first vessel of the Batillus class, she was, together with her sister ships '' Bellamya, Pierre Guillaumat'' and ...
'', ''Bellamya
''Bellamya'' was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. She was the second Batillus class supertanker. ''Bellamya'', together with her sister ships ''Batillus, Pierre Guil ...
'', ''Pierre Guillaumat
Pierre Guillaumat (5 August 1909 – 28 August 1991) was a Minister of National Education and Minister of the Armies under French President Charles de Gaulle and founder of the Elf Aquitaine oil company in 1967. He was born in La Flèche
...
'' and '' Prairial''. A new dry dock was built for this purpose and allowed the construction of tankers exceeding one million tonnes, but it remained mainly unused except for the construction in 1975-1976 of the sister-ships MV ''Gastor'' and ''Nestor'' and then again idle until construction of Cunard's liner RMS ''Queen Mary 2''.
Between 1985 and 1998, the shipyard built several cruise ships for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flori ...
(RCCL). In 1987 the first of these ships, ''Sovereign of the Seas ''Sovereign of the Seas'' may refer to one of these ships:
* , an English Royal Navy warship of 102 guns; later renamed ''Sovereign'' and ''Royal Sovereign''
* Sovereign of the Seas (clipper), ''Sovereign of the Seas'' (clipper), an 1852 clipper sh ...
'', was delivered, and was the first mega cruise ship in the world. Subsequent deliveries to RCCL included ''Monarch of the Seas
MS ''Monarch'' (formerly ''Monarch of the Seas'') was the second of three s owned by Royal Caribbean International. Beginning on April 1, 2013, ''Monarch'' was operated by RCCL's Pullmantur Cruises, before being sold for scrap in 2020 following th ...
'', '' Majesty of the Seas'', ''Nordic Empress
''Empress'' (formerly ''Nordic Empress'' and ''Empress of the Seas'') is a cruise ship owned by Cordelia Cruises, an Indian cruise line. She is the sole ship of her class. She entered service with then-Royal Caribbean International in 1990, tran ...
'', '' Legend of the Seas'', ''Splendour of the Seas
''Marella Discovery'' (formerly ''Splendour of the Seas'' and ''TUI Discovery'') is a former Royal Caribbean International Vision-class cruise ship now sailing for Marella Cruises. The second in the line of the Vision-class ships, she features a ...
'', '' Rhapsody of the Seas'', and '' Vision of the Seas''. In 2003, the shipyard also delivered ''Crystal Serenity
''Crystal Serenity'' is a cruise ship owned by Crystal Cruises before the line went out business. ''Crystal Serenity'' was built in 2003 by STX Europe in St. Nazaire. '' to Crystal Cruises
}
Crystal Cruises is a cruise line now headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following i ...
and RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' to Cunard Line. During the construction of RMS ''Queen Mary 2'', a gangway to the dry-docked ship collapsed, killing sixteen people.
On 4 January 2006 Aker Yards
Aker may refer to:
Places
* Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway
* Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality
* Aker Br ...
purchased the Marine Division of Alstom, which included the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard. In March 2007 Aker ASA
Aker ASA is a Norwegian industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, maritime assets, marine biotechnology, and industrial software. The company is listed on Oslo Sto ...
divested its interest in Aker Yards, with South Korean STX Corporation
STX Corporation (Hangul: 에스티엑스) is a publicly held South Korean holding company engaged in the provision of trading services. Headquartered in Gyeongsangnamdo, South Korea, the company operates its business through two divisions: trade ...
acquiring a 39.2% stake in Aker Yards in October. By 3 November 2008 STX Corporation had acquired a controlling stake in the company, renaming it to STX Europe. The same year, the French government purchased a 33.34% stake in the shipyard.
After the bankruptcy of STX Corporation in 2016, STX France was put up for sale, and the Italian state-owned shipyard Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
showed interest in acquiring STX France.
In September 2017, after difficult negotiations and a brief nationalization of the shipyard by the French government, the involved parties reached an agreement, with Fincantieri acquiring a 50% stake in STX France, and the remainder being held by the French Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
and the French government. A month later, it was announced that the Saint-Nazaire shipyard would regain its original name, Chantiers de l'Atlantique.
In 2022, a new crane entered service during the construction of the '' Celebrity Ascent'', replacing the older crane from 1967.
Ships
Notable passenger liners built by at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique yard(former Ateliers et Chantiers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët) include:
Other ships built at the yard:
* ''Sans Souci'' class - 4 sloops, designed as seaplane tenders, but built as escorts. all launched in 1940.
* The BELLE ABETO - Built 1952 as LAENNEC 66 BELLE ABETO Passenger/cargo Ship.
* Batillus class supertankers
The ''Batillus''-class supertankers were a class of supertanker ships built in France in the late 1970s, with four ships of this class built between 1976 and 1979. Three of the ships were scrapped after less than ten years of oil transport ser ...
- Four ships launched (1976-1979)
* and MV, Nestor - Two LNG carrier
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG).
History
The first LNG carrier '' Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...
s built in 1975-1977 for the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
NSU (later Nedlloyd
Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the result of a merger of several shipping lines:
*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN)
*Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL)
*Koninklijke Java-China-Paketvaart-Lijnen (KJCPL)
*Vereen ...
) and Ocean Group (later owned by Bonny Gas Transport
Bonny Gas Transport is a subsidiary of Nigeria LNG or NLNG which itself is an incorporated joint-venture of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Gas B.V., TotalEnergies Gaz & Electricite Holdings and Eni International N.A. N ...
). The large drydock, which was later used for the Queen Mary 2
RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...
, was specially built for the building of supertankers in the 1970s, among which were these two ships. The drydock was never used again until the QM2 was being built.[Documentary on Discovery Knowledg]
Building of the Queen Mary 2
on YouTube - YT movie deleted because of copyright infringement
* - Brittany Ferries ship that operates between Portsmouth and St Malo, was launched in 1989.
* KOGO - Completed by Alstom in May 2006. It was a yacht owned by Mansour Ojjeh
Mansour Akram Ojjeh (25 September 1952 – 6 June 2021) ( ar, مَنْصُور أَكْرَم عُجَّة, Manṣūr ʾAkram ʿUjjah) was a French Saudi Arabian-born entrepreneur who owned part of TAG, a Luxembourg-based holding company with in ...
, who also part-owns the McLaren Formula One team. KOGO has been used by Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
and the yacht has an on-board gym and Jacuzzi.
* MS ''Baltic Princess'' - A part of it was launched in 2008.
* Russian amphibious assault ship Vladivostok - Later purchased by Egypt.
* Russian amphibious assault ship Sevastopol - Later purchased by Egypt.
Future ships on order:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chantiers De L'atlantique
Shipyards of France
Aker ASA
Saint-Nazaire
1861 establishments in France
Buildings and structures in Loire-Atlantique