This is a major milestone year for Ocea, as it’s celebrating 30 years of continuous operation. While military vessels have long been in its arsenal, yachts have become a bigger focus for the now much-larger operations.
It all began in February 1987. Roland Joassard and Fabrice Epaud took over a facility in Les Sables-d’Olonne. Then known as Pouvreau, the shipyard dated to 1934 and had expertise in aluminum construction. In fact, Joassard and Epaud knew they wanted to specialize in aluminum. They believed in the material’s light weight, for instance, which in turn benefits fuel burn.
Three years after acquiring that site, Joassard and Epaud grew Ocea again. They purchased a yard known as Union & Travail in the same city as their first yard. Le Bastion, yet another shipyard in that city, joined the company in 1995. But, as much as Les Sables-d’Olonne suited the needs, they identified additional opportunities elsewhere. Fast patrol boats were among the projects that Ocea offered, and the partners felt they deserved their own facility. Therefore, Joassard and Epaud opened a new location solely for constructing these ships in Saint-Nazaire in 1996.
Even with strong experience in aluminum, Ocea saw yet another opportunity to broaden into composites. This came in 1999 when MAG France became part of the company. Located in Fontenay-le-Comte, it had built a variety of cruising and racing sailboats. In fact, some launches went on to compete in highly regarded races like the Whitbread. The fourth, and final, French site opened its doors under the company name in 2009, a production facility in La Rochelle.
Interestingly, the Ocea Yachts division didn’t formally set roots until 2000. The in-house build and design teams drew upon their experience with performance craft and transatlantic vessels. To date, nine yachts are cruising the world’s oceans. The biggest is Elisabet, measuring 154 feet (47 meters) and reflectling styling from early-20th-century craft. Even larger yachts are on the drawing boards, too. These include the Nemo 50 Ice (above), an ice-classed global cruiser. Furthermore, the Les Sables-d’Olonne site underwent an upgrade in recent years. As a result, ic can now build megayachts to 279 feet (85 meters).
Even with all the changes over 30 years, the 300-plus ships bearing the Ocea name share something. “We’re developing efficient, high-quality, well-built vessels, and all at a low cost of ownership,” asserts Joassard. “We started out this way and we’ve kept the same standards for all the types of boats we’ve developed.”
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