Also known as Champlain class by the lead ship,[2] they have been used for regional transport and patrol needs in French Overseas Departments and Territories since the 1970s.

[1] On 9 January 2014 it was announced that the two remaining Batrals in French service would be replaced in 2015/16 by three (subsequently four) 1500-tonne Bâtiments Multimission (B2M) at a cost of ~€100m (US$136m).

[1] The BATRALs can ferry over 400 tons of matériel, in the hangar and on the deck.

Two flat-bottom vessels allow unloading fifty men and light vehicles each.

The Chilean Navy purchased the plans and built three ships in the ASMAR shipyards in the early 1980s.