Somme

The French tanker Somme is a command and replenishment tanker (, BCR) of the French Navy. In addition to its primary duty as a fleet tanker, Somme is configured as a flagship and has served as such in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was constructed at La Seyne, France beginning in 1985 and entered service in 1990. In October 2009, the ship was mistakenly attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The attack was repelled and the pirates captured. Design and description In French service, the final three tankers are called Bâtiment de commandement et ravitailleur (BCR, "command and replenishment ship"). In addition to their role as a fleet tanker, the three ships dubbed BCR can accommodate an entire general staff and thus supervise naval operations as a command ship. The three ships of the class designated BCRs, , and Somme all have superstructures that were extended aft by to accommodate the additional staff requirements. The BCRs have one crane positioned along the centreline. Somme has a standard displacement of and at full load. The oiler is long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of and a draught of empty and at full load. Somme is powered by two SEMT Pielstick 16 PC2.5 V 400 diesel engines turning two LIPS controllable pitch propellers rated at . The vessel has a maximum speed of and a range of at . Somme has two dual solid/liquid underway transfer stations per side and can replenish two ships per side and one astern. The ship initially had capacity for of fuel oil, of diesel fuel, of JP-5 aviation fuel, of distilled water, of provisions, of munitions and of spare parts. These numbers change with the needs of the fleet.