Australian, French Navy ships in cross-deck engagement

Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate HMAS Darwin and the French Floréal-class frigate Nivôse recently conducted a personnel exchange to discuss strategies for working together in the region off the coast of Africa.

Six personnel from Darwin including executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Tina Brown, and boarding officer, Lieutenant James Hodgkinson, boarded Nivôse, while Darwin played host to Nivôse commanding officer, Commander Julien Lalanne de Saint-Quentin, operations officer, Lieutenant Antoine de Rodelle and four other French personnel.

The first transfer of personnel was undertaken via Darwin’s rigid hull inflatable boat while the transfer back was carried out using the Nivôse Panther helicopter.

Both ships are contributing to the multi-national naval partnership called Combined Maritime Forces. More specifically, the ships are assigned to the Royal Navy-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) which deals with maritime security and counter-terrorism.

The two ships intercepted a total of one tonne of heroin during May 2016. The interdictions made in May were 6th, 7th and 8th for Darwin and the first for Nivose in 2016.