French frigate FS Guepratte bound for Romania and final Black Sea port visit

French Navy’s La Fayette-class frigate FS Guepratte (F-714) is scheduled to enter the Romanian port of Constanta on December 5 for the final port visit on her Black Sea tour.

Guepratte is visiting Romania after paying a visit to Ukrainian port of Odessa along with US Navy destroyer USS James E Williams on November 30.

Once in Romania, the ship’s senior officers are scheduled to interact with Romanian Navy and local authorities while the crew is set to take part in navy-to-navy sporting events in addition to sightseeing tours.

The frigate will depart the port of Constanta on December 8 and undertake joint exercises with Romanian Tetal-I class frigate Vice-Amiral Eugeniu Roșca (F-263) and minesweeper Lt. Lupu Dinescu (F-25) in Romanian territorial waters and international waters of the Black Sea.

Guepratte will have to exit the Black Sea on December 9 to abide by the Montreux Convention which limits the presence of warships from countries not bordering the Black Sea to 21 days. The frigate entered the Black Sea on November 26.

Guepratte is the final of five La Fayette-class frigates, commissioned into the French Navy on October 27, 2001. The general-purpose frigate is armed with Exocet missiles, 100 mm and 20 mm guns, and the Crotale CN2 CIWS.