BNS OOSTENDE

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Minehunter newbuilding collided with pontoon

The 'Oostende' collided with a floating pontoon in Lorient on May 26, 2025, damaging its bulbous bow. An Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), which was attached to the pontoon, was damaged too. The bulbous bow, which is made of composite, has to be replaced. This will be done during a planned dry-docking period. The incident caused delays but not additional costs. At this stage, the ship was still entirely the responsibility of the contractors, Naval Group and Exail. The maneuver was therefore carried out by a civilian crew hired by the contractors. An investigation by the contractors should clarify exactly what happened, but it does not appear that any other critical systems such as the sonar were damaged. Once this investigation has been completed, the revised timeline for the 'Oostende's delivery will also become clearer . The delivery of the minehunterr was scheduled for July 23. This is not the first time the delivery has been delayed. The original schedule called for delivery in May 2024, but this date was changed to July 2025.