The Monks of Saint Honorat Sing Cummins’ Praises

Ann-Kristin de Verdier, Executive Managing Director of Cummins Distribution Business in Europe, was the honoured guest on a special visit to a holy island off the coast of Cannes in the south of France.

Cruising to Saint Honorat aboard a new Cummins-powered ferry launched earlier this summer, Ann-Kristin enjoyed lunch and a guided tour of the island’s world-famous abbey, home to a community of Cistercian monks.

“I was delighted to visit Saint Honorat and celebrate the launch of a vessel which plays such a vital role in sustaining the local community,” said Ann-Kristin, who had earlier visited the internationally-renowned Cannes Yachting Festival where Cummins announced two luxury boatbuilder partnerships. “It was a very windy day and the ferry ride was quite an adventure.”

“I am extremely proud of the way our experienced Cummins France Marine and Aftermarket teams worked with our trusted local dealer CUMAS to deliver this important project.”

For the past 18 years, the combination of reliable Cummins power solutions and responsive local service and maintenance support has underpinned the ferry operation that connects Saint Honorat with Cannes and the French Riviera.

Two ferries – The Saint-Siffrein and Saint-Honorat III - each powered by twin Cummins QSM11- 450hp engines, have enabled the inhabitants, workers and visitors to commute to the tiny island, which is only 1500m long and 400m wide. The similarly powered Saint-Maxime serves as a trusty supply vessel.

Saint-Honorat III was repurposed to Atlantic coast operations and a brand-new ferry was commissioned in June this year: The Saint Honorat IV.

The new vessel is powered by two of the latest engine model addition to Cummins Marine product line-up Cummins, the X15-M, rated 630hp at 2100rpm.

The X15 has proven for years its performance, endurance and reliability in other power segments and can meet the most demanding marine applications.

Cummins’ patented XPI fuel system installed on the X15 ensures a quick transient response and an unparalleled fuel economy at cruise speeds while meeting the most stringent emissions regulations and achieving low maintenance costs.

The Cannes Bay to Saint Honorat island crossing takes about 20 minutes, and the service, which runs between 8am and 6.30pm seven days a week, carries more than 95,000 passengers a year. Tourists flock to see the Lérins Abbey and the famous fortified monastery tower, built during the 11th Century.

On May 27, the Priest of the Abbey conducted a ‘baptism’ service for the Saint-Honorat IV and described the boat as a symbol of the intelligence and ingenuity of man.

Recognising ferry operator Planaria’s wish for its boats to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, the six Cummins engines and three on-board Cummins Onan generator-sets are running on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

The entire fleet will run on HVO once the Saint-Maxime’s QSM11s and genset are replaced in November by local authorised Cummins dealer CUMAS.

Rachel Martin York, Aftermarket Sales Manager for Cummins France, said the impetus for the design and development of the Saint-Honorat IV was an X15 roadshow organised by Cummins and staged at various dealer locations during 2019.

One of those was the Vallauris facility of CUMAS, near Antibes, where Planaria executive Olivier Durand was impressed with what he saw and heard about the qualities of the X15 and its potential to deliver exceptional performance while bringing down total cost of ownership.

Thierry Lebohec, Business Leader for Commercial Marine, said the Marine Technical and Sales Teams of Cummins France worked closely with CUMAS to make the Saint-Honorat IV project a success.

“We were in regular dialogue with architect Naval Mer et Design and the Toulon shipyard of Transmetal Industrie to make sure we had the optimum layout to accommodate the two X15s and the Cummins Onan 27MDKDU tri-phase generator set,” he explained.

With the huge focus on reducing emissions along the Cote d’Azur and in the commercial marine sector in particular, Planaria was happy to switch away from traditional diesel and embrace HVO.

“The cost of the HVO is slightly more than diesel but the engines themselves do not require any additional maintenance,” said Jean-Francois Ropart, Managing Director of CUMAS.

“We check the oil every 200 hours instead of the normal 250 hours to see if it needs replacing but that’s about it. Planaria believes the benefits are worth the switchover which is very much in line with the abbey’s focus on protecting the environment.”

CUMAS has provided Planaria with an on-board kit of genuine Cummins parts for each vessel. “We are available for our customers round-the-clock but if there’s an issue at sea that needs to be fixed quickly, the kit is our insurance policy,” said Jean Francois.

The maximum speed of the Saint-Honorat IV is 19 knots but to comply with local regulations it is limited to no more than 12 knots when operating in the busy Bay of Cannes area.

Cummins has a familiar presence on the French Riviera and its acclaimed engines are as popular in the recreational marine market as they are in the commercial field.