PIRIOU Shipyard with order for two test vessels

The Indonesian research and innovation agency BRIN commissioned the French shipbuilding group PIRIOU to design and build two research vessels. The contract includes a full-sea unit intended for oceanographic and hydrographic research and a smaller vessel for research in coastal waters.

PIRIOU to build ships for Indonesia

The agreement was signed on 11 June 2026 in Indonesia. Order includes seagoing vessel oceanographic ORV and smaller coastal research vessel CRV.

Both units will be built at PIRIOU Vietnam, an Asian industrial company of the French group. This is important not only from the point of view of the contract itself, but also from the growing importance of shipbuilding facilities in Southeast Asia.

KRisNa programme and oceanographic research

New vessels will be part of the KRisNa programme, the Indonesian national research vessel programme. Its aim is to enhance the state's capacity to conduct marine research in connection with climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of ocean resources.

The larger ORV is to conduct scientific campaigns in the waters of Indonesia and the Sea of Natuna, which is part of the wider South China Sea region. The tasks will include hydrography, batimetry, physical and chemical oceanography, geology and marine geophysics, sediment sampling and ecosystem observation.

The smaller CRV will complement these capabilities in coastal areas and during regional missions to Southeast Asia.

Scientific equipment and unmanned systems

Both ships are to receive modern test equipment, including batimetric measurement systems. The ORV will be additionally equipped with a high resolution bottom profiler for testing sediment layers.

Both units also have an acoustic USBL positioning system. It will allow to work with remote-controlled ROV submarines and unmanned systems, including submarines USV and submarines AUV.

Technical data of new vessels

The marine oceanographic ship ORV will be 74.8 m long, 14.05 m wide and 4.5 m submerged. Its gross capacity will be approximately 3700 GT. The unit will receive diesel-electric drive and space for 46 people.

The coastal research vessel CRV will be much smaller. It is to be 30 m long, 8.2 m wide and 2.2 m submerged. The gross tonnage was set at approximately 290 GT. There will be room on board for six crew members and six scientists, and the autonomy of the unit for 10 days.

French-Indonesian maritime cooperation

The project will be financed with the support of the French Development Agency. For Paris, this is another example of use ship industry as tools for scientific, industrial and maritime cooperation.

For Indonesia, new research vessels will be an important reinforcement of the scientific base at sea. For the largest island country in the world, it is not only about oceanographic and hydrographic research, but also about better recognition of its own waters, marine resources and changes in the marine environment.