Fleet 2023 Programming

Call for projects 2022 for campaigns programmable from 2024 on offshore vessels

At the end of July 2022, we sent you information on the potentially strong impact of the increase in energy costs and inflation on the 2023 activity of the French Oceanographic Fleet. At the request of the MESR, Ifremer's fleet management has estimated at 9 M€ the additional budget needed to meet the commitments included in the Fleet's specifications: 450 days of scientific activity evaluated on deep-sea vessels and 960 days on coastal and semi-shore vessels. This evaluation has been transmitted to the MESR.
The Fleet Steering Committee met on September 12, 2022 and noted that no new information was available since last July, as the international energy crisis is making the State's budgetary planning more complex.
The Steering Committee has therefore decided to postpone the call for projects for the 2022 offshore for campaigns programmable from 2024. It will meet in mid-October and will make a final decision on whether or not to open this call for projects.
In addition, with the full support of the Fleet Steering Committee, Ifremer has emphasized to the MESR the financial needs necessary to meet the activity objectives of the Fleet in 2023 and wishes to continue the preparation of a program in accordance with its commitments (see above). However, it is highly likely that the governmental arbitrations and the amount of the grant for the Fleet will not be known before the end of November 2022. If the final amount of the subsidy does not allow the financial balance of the FOF to be respected, the Steering Committee will have to review the 2023 program at the beginning of the year.
We are fully aware of the great difficulty in which this unstable situation can put you, but we must, like the State, face an unprecedented situation that does not allow us to stabilize the assumptions at this time. In order not to jeopardize the future, the preparation of all potentially programmable campaigns continues and the operations managers of the naval operations division will continue to interact with those of you whose missions are planned for 2023 in the coming weeks.

Olivier Lefort Director of the French Oceanographic Fleet, on behalf of the IR* French Oceanographic Fleet Steering Committee