Quai Commandant Malbert

The Commandant Malbert Quay is certainly one of those places where you can really get a feel for the spirit of this port city. It’s named after Commandant Louis Marie Malbert, a local man who became captain of a tugboat anchored in Brest since 1924. Tugs are small boats that guide and help larger vessels enter and dock in the port. They also lend a hand to ships in need of assistance at sea. With his own tug, the Iroise, Commandant Malbert was able to save some 40 ships from sinking between 1924 and 1933, thus saving hundreds of sailors in the process. Today, the quay named after him is home to another famous tug – the Abeille Bourbon. It has safeguarded the French coast ever since 2005. It’s one of five vessels designed by a company called Les Abeilles International, to patrol the French coastline at all times and respond to all kinds of emergencies and rescues. Ready to set sail in less than an hour, these specialized vessels can tow boats in an emergency, rescue sailors, tackle fires, and respond to maritime pollution and environmental disasters. In fact, it was for this last reason that they were originally created, that is, to prevent and manage oil spills – a major threat to the environment, public health and the economy. These occur when hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum products, are spilled into the sea and carried ashore by currents. As you will have gathered by now, the Abeille Bourbon is one of the most powerful tugs in the world. If you’re lucky, it will be moored here, a little further along the Commandant Malbert Quay. You’ll recognize it straight away – it’s not very big, but it’s very well equipped, blue, with stripes in the three colors of the French flag. But before that, you’ll come across yet another famous vessel, the Recouvrance. Nowhere near as powerful as the Abeille Bourbon, the Recouvrance is a replica of a 19th-century ship that was once used to transport urgent letters to the coasts of Africa and the West Indies. Here’s your chance to see a traditional French ship and even book a cruise aboard it, to discover Brest’s beautiful coastline. Alright, enough chit-chat. I’ll leave you to enjoy your stroll along the city’s emblematic quay.