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MANILA, Philippines – The French surveillance frigate Vendémiaire will be here on a four-day goodwill visit from March 18 to 21, the French embassy in Manila said Tuesday.
The frigate, which patrols the high seas, particularly around the
islands in the Pacific Ocean under French jurisdiction, is scheduled to arrive Wednesday from Dili in East Timor in the Muelle De San Francisco at Pier 13, South Harbor in Manila at 9 a.m.
The embassy said the visit of the ship whose name referred to
the month of grape harvest in the calendar of the 18th century French revolution (from September 22 to October 21) sought “to promote friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and France as nations of the Pacific.”
As part of its functions in navigation police and fishery protection, the ship of 92 crew personnel, including 12 officers, continuously “patrols, informs, and deals with trouble makers.”
It also serves as deterrent force and participates in multilateral exercises and many bilateral cooperation activities with navies in the region.
French warships visit the Philippine archipelago once or twice a year.
The ship’s captain, Commander Frédéric Benon, is set to pay courtesy calls on officials of the Philippine Navy and the City of Manila.
Vendémiaire, which is outfitted with a helicopter that is designed for operations at sea, has a length of 95 meters, breadth of 14 meters, and a draft of 4.4 meters; and a maximum displacement of 2,800 tons.
Based in Noumea in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific, Vendémiaire then sails to North Pacific after its visit in Manila.
