Chartered by the French state, the sea tugboats "Abeille Flandre" and its sister ship the "Abeille Languedoc" are used for naval and civilian salvage and rescue operations and with a bollard pull of 160 ton belong to the most powerful tugs in the world. The "Abeille Flandre" operates off the coast of Brest in Brittany, renowned for being the most heavily used and dangerous maritime waterways in the world. Docked in Cherbourg in Normandy, the "Abeille Languedoc" has a different set of conditions to work with in its neighbouring waters: a high incidence of fog and strong currents present rescue problems of another kind.