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The Abeille Bourbon, a triumphant arrival in Brest !
Paris, June 14, 2005
The latest rescue tug to be chartered by the French Navy, the Abeille Bourbon, was welcomed off the coast of Brittany by her predecessor, the Abeille Flandre, for an escort at sea before her triumphant arrival for the official christening ceremony to the stirring sound of Breton bagpipes.On April 13th, in the presence of some 1000 selected guests and accompanied by Admiral Mérer, France's Maritime Prefect for the Atlantic seaboard, and Groupe Bourbon chairman Jacques de Chateauvieux, the prestigious christener, Madame Jacques Chirac, admired the new vessel as "magnificent" before paying tribute to the "courage, generosity and abnegation of all those who are called to action at sea".!!!!Newly delivered from her Norwegian shipyard, the latest rescue tug to be chartered by the French Navy, the Abeille Bourbon, was welcomed off the coast of Brittany by her predecessor, the Abeille Flandre, for an escort at sea before her triumphant arrival for the official christening ceremony to the stirring sound of Breton bagpipes.On April 13th, in the presence of some 1000 selected guests and accompanied by Admiral Mérer, France's Maritime Prefect for the Atlantic seaboard, and Groupe Bourbon chairman Jacques de Chateauvieux, the prestigious christener, Madame Jacques Chirac, admired the new vessel as "magnificent" before paying tribute to the "courage, generosity and abnegation of all those who are called to action at sea".Blessed by Father Raymond le Gall, the tug and her crew now assume the responsibility for protecting the French Atlantic shoreline. "The Abeille Bourbon will no doubt prove a worthy replacement, taking over the task with flying colours, and will certainly win the same place in the hearts of the Bretons as had the Abeille Flandre, her illustrious predecessor, now gone south to Toulon" declared Christian Quillivic, general manager of Les Abeilles International.