Chantier Naval Impérial Océan

History

As the Seilurid Empire mostly waged land wars throughout most of its early history, naval power was not initially a concern. It was only after several centuries of unification and aggressive expansion that it became a factor in Seelie thinking. While Bourguignon and Norman people that would later be integrated into the Empire had developed sprawling maritime trade - and thus a need to protect said trade - very early on, this was not the case of the founding Seelie, who mostly engaged in commerce by land-based caravans.
Recognizing the need for a strong naval presence to be a major power in the maritime-driven Achaea and leery of relying entirely on vassal populations of dubious loyalty for that task, House De Fay sponsored the construction of private shipyards in Elfame, which was a highly strategic location as it was an inland sea that could only be accessed through a long river, the sides of which could easily but heavily be fortified to annihilate any invasion force. It was this strategic location - and wide access to local high-quality timber and skilled labor - that allowed the newly built shipyard to quickly grow in importance.
Despite the aforementioned concerns, the Seelie were forced to admit their lack of experience in shipbuilding, and many Norman shipwrights and explorers were hired at generous prices to make up the core of this new, Seelie shipbuilding endeavor. For many centuries since, the Océan shipyards would focus on making relatively small, faster ships such as galleasses and frigates. This was a mirror of their land tactics, applied at sea, with great emphasis being put on raiding, hit and run attacks and dictating engagements through superior speed and seaworthiness in general. These demands would greatly shape all ships designed and built at Océan.
This focus on speed and seaworthiness has remained true up to this day, even though the Océan naval yards went through considerable changes throughout the 19th century. The introduction of wrought iron hull construction and armor was a total revolution in shipbuilding, and no longer were the sprawling forests of the Terres Céleste sufficient to build modern ships. Worse, these heavy, early ironclads powered by primitive steam engines struggled to achieve speeds that were even remotely close of the benchmarks the Seelie demanded from their naval vessels. As a result, hybrid propulsion of steam and sail remained common on Océan designs, just as sail and oar had been in the past.
In the second half of the 19th century, new, larger drydocks were constructed as the Seelie recognized that their fast raiders were no match for the seemingly-impervious armor of ironclads and admitted that they needed to start constructing large battleships of their own. In times of peace or economic strain, the new, sizable docks of Océan would be commissioned by private ventures to construct large freighters and passenger ships. That was however not the only new, radical change that took place in the late 19th century. With oil being discovered in the Prés d'Or region and being exploited, this new black gold was seen as a way to increase the lackluster speed of ships among many other benefits, and the Océan yards were among the first in all of Achaea to design oil-fired boilers, which have since become a staple of the naval yards.

Type:
Naval Yard
Specialization:
Engines and Propulsion, Oil technology

Founding Date

1478

Location

Elfame