By
Sebastien Lucot
Published on
June 17, 2024 at 6:54 a.m.
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On the port docks of Cherbourg (Manche), for several months the rumor has been circulating that the Cherbourg Armament could be sold abroad.
But what is it really about? the future of this recognized company in the CotentinWho employs 50 peopleof which 35 sailors and supplies Pisces 70% of the auction cherbourgeois?
Stayed in France
“We have heard a lot that boats were going to go abroad, which is false, the armament is not sold”, explains Sophie Leroy, who created the SAS Armement Cherbourgeois in 1999 with her husbandDavid.
THE ownersattached to fishing know-how French artisanalwant at all costs to avoid this scenario and for the armament to remain in France.
A call to communities
However, they wish to prepare the succession of this Cherbourg institution since the time of retirement will sound in a little more two years for David Leroy. For the spouses, this future transfer must be “locally thought out”.
The “Maranatha II” undergoing refit in the Netherlands
At the end of May, the Maranatha II, one of the four deep-sea ships of the Cherbourg Armament, was in the Netherlands. Enough to fuel the rumor… This journey to the Dutch was the result of a major overhaul that the ship made up of 6 sailors, built in 1998, had to undergo. “We couldn’t find anything closer,” assures Sophie Leroy. Equipped with a very specific engine, from the ABC brand, a brand specializing in diesel engines for marine propulsion, the Maranatha II and its crew had to set sail for the Padmos shipyard, in Stellendam in the south of the country. » It was an important, obligatory interview. “
Sophie Leroy, 48, also confides that she does not want to “work and penalize [sa] family life until [ses] 70 years” to safeguard armaments and artisanal fishing in Cherbourg.
It therefore “alerts” the local communities to take the necessary measures :
Heaviness and administrative slowness must also be taken into account for an inheritance. Reflection work must be carried out upstream, starting today.
Furthermore, a sale abroad would also mean a departure quotas fishing industry in France.
“We will sell the company, that’s for sure. But we want to do it locally. THE policiesface their responsibilities. »
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