Calypso asked to leave the Piriou shipyard in Concarneau

Calypso asked to leave the Piriou shipyard in Concarneau Calypso, the oceanographic ship of Commander Cousteau, entered the Piriou shipyard in Concarneau in 2007 for a complete restoration. Following a disagreement between the association and the site, the work stopped in 2009 and the case was taken to court. After a first decision, appealed, the Court of Appeal of Rennes has just decided, Calypso will have to leave. The Calypso cousteau's famous oceanographic ship, had been in a hangar at the Piriou Naval Service shipyard in Concarneau since 2007, undergoing a complete restoration. In 2009, the work was suspended, with Equipe Cousteau and The Cousteau Society claiming that the shipyard had done a poor job. For its part, Piriou denounced additional and costly work that was not foreseen in the contract. No work had been done since that date. In October 2013, the Commercial Court of Quimper ordered the Cousteau Association to move Calypso within 4 months under penalty of a fine of 1,000 euros per day of delay and to pay 100,000 euros for work already completed. Piriou was also ordered to reimburse 138,000 euros because of an overpayment. The shipyard and the association then decided to appeal. On December 9, the Court of Appeal of Rennes ruled in favor of the Piriou shipyards. The Cousteau Society must take charge of moving Calypso before February 9, but also pay compensation of 2,850 euros per month, starting in September 2013, until the vessel is retired. The amount of work already carried out on the boat, worth 273,000 euros, will also have to be paid. The president of Piriou Naval service said in a statement " This stop is a great relief for us but leaves us with a deep taste of bitterness." . This decision " puts an end to six years of sterile quarrels" but leaves " a deep taste of bitterness with regard to the energies and means we have deployed in vain to restore Calypso. Her fate is no longer our responsibility and it is up to her owner to quickly find her a new home port." The Calypso was an oceanographic vessel, used by Captain Cousteau from 1950 to 1996, to carry out scientific maritime explorations in all the oceans of the world. This ship, which was initially a minesweeper, was transformed by Cousteau to become an expedition ship but also a support base for diving, filming and oceanographic research.