Nivôse (F.732). Gulf of Aden. (March 5, 2010)

Министерство обороны Франции объявило о том, что фрегат ВМС Франции Nivôse (F.732) (на фото) задержал сомалийских пиратов в количестве 11 человек. Пираты за день до этого пытались захватить французское океанографическое судно, сообщает Росбалт со ссылкой на Associated Press.

В пятницу утром с палубы Nivôse вылетел вертолет, который обнаружил судно и две лодки с пиратами в 350 милях от восточного побережья Сомали.

После того, как пиратская база была захвачена, на борту нашли ракетницу и абордажные крючья. Кроме того, досмотровая группа видела, как пираты выбросили что-то за борт, возможно оружие. Две пиратские лодки и судно были потоплены. Их экипажи были арестованы и взяты на борт фрегата.

On the early morning of the 5th of March, EUNAVFOR Warship FS NIVOSE launched her helicopter and detected the skiffs some  350 nautical miles east of the Somali coast. The EU NAVFOR French Boarding Team, while approaching the skiffs, observed objects being thrown overboard. On arrival at the scene they found 11 suspected pirates and pirate paraphernalia in the skiffs including a rocket launcher, grappling hooks and several fuel barrels. The mother ship and one skiff have been destroyed and the suspected pirates taken into custody.

La Nivôse (numéro de coque F.732) est une frégate française de la classe Floréal. Elle est basée au port de la Pointe des Galets, sur l'île de La Réunion, département d'outre-mer dans l'océan Indien.

The Nivôse is a light surveillance frigate ("frégate de surveillance") of the French Marine Nationale. She is the third ship of the Floréal class, and the fourth French vessel named after the 4th month of the Republican Calendar.

In October 2001, she was deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In late 2008, under frigate captain Jean-Marc Le Quilliec, Nivôse was deployed as part of a European Union expeditionary force, Operation Atalanta, in the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy off Somalia. On 15 April 2009, she captured 11 pirates 900 km (550 miles) East of Mombasa, and thwarted an attack on the Liberian-registered merchantman Safmarine Asia.

Nivôse relieved her sister-ship Floréal on 12 April 2009 as part of Atalanta. On 3 May 2009, 900 km off Somalia, the crew managed to lure pirates to attack the ship: mistaken for a merchant ship, Nivôse sailed into the sun to avoid being identified; as the pirate closed in, she turned about, launching her on-boarded helicopter and fast outboard vessels. 11 pirates were captured.