Tuesday 30 May 2017

French Navy's frigate Prairial visits Bangkok


French navy frigate makes port call

28 May 2017 at 04:00

Thai sea cadets and naval officials had the rare chance to board the French Navy's frigate Prairial as it visits Bangkok on a diplomatic and maritime surveillance mission which aims to strengthen ties between the Royal Thai Navy and the French Navy.

The Prairial was the second in a series of six ships built in the Saint-Nazaire shipyards in France in 1990-92 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

Her home port is Papeete in Tahiti, and the name Prairial refers to the "month of pasture harvest" in the calendar of the 18th century French Revolution.

The 2,600-tonne vessel is armed with 20mm and 100mm guns and Exocet surface-to-air missiles, and carries a transport craft, three boats and one Alouette III helicopter. Patrol ship Prairial and its 100 sailors are now in the second month of a three-month deployment.

It visited Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines before arriving at Bangkok's Klong Toey port for its fifth port call on Thursday.

According to commander Christophe Le Coz, the ship will be docked in Thailand until today before returning to Tahiti.

"During the four-day period here, we have opened the Prairial's doors to many Thai sea cadets and naval officials and offered them guided tours around the 93.5-metre ship. The navies of both countries have exchanged good experiences," Le Coz said.

Earlier this month, the Prairial conducted international joint exercises with Thai Ratanakosin-class coastal defence ship Sukhothai and some Malaysian and Singaporean naval ships around the Strait of Malacca.

The operational exchange was aimed at promoting stability in the region, free navigation and strong strategic partnerships.

"It is important to have stability and freedom of navigation in this region, so we are working together to fight piracy and international drug trafficking, and illegal fishing. And I can say that we have worked very well with the Royal Thai Navy," Le Coz said.

He said both navies now aim to share more information about international drug trafficking, illegal fishing and exploitation of natural resources in the future.

The French commander and some of his crew will visit the Grand Palace to pay their respects to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and write messages of condolence.

Writer: Dumrongkiat Mala
Position: Reporter


Original post: bangkokpost.com


Floréal-class frigate


General characteristics
Class and type:
Displacement:
2600 tonnes (2950 tonnes full load)
Length:
93.5 m (307 ft)
Beam:
14 metres (46 ft)
Draught:
4.4 m (14 ft)
Propulsion:
  • Engines : 4 diesel SEMT Pielstick 6PA6 L280
  • Auxiliaries : 1 Ulstein 200 kW beam propulsor
  • Propellers : 2 variable pace Lips
  • Propulsive power : 8800 hp (6470 kW)
  • Electric Plant : 3 Baudouin 12P15 2SR diesel alternators and 3 Alsthom AA 49L9 alternators
  • Electric Power : 3 × 590 kW
Speed:
20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:
10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), 13,000 nautical miles (24,000 km; 15,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:
  • ETN 90 (Embarcation de Transport en Nombre)
  • Zodiac Hurricane 530 OB with two Yamaha 2T 140 CV VETOL engines
  • One 10-seat zodiac
Complement:
  • 11 officers
  • 36 non-commissioned officers
  • 42 men
  • (11 men for the helicopter)
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Radar:
  • DRBV-21C (Mars) air sentry radar
  • Racal Decca RM1290 navigation radar
  • Racal Decca RM1290 landing radar
  • Navigation
  • Microcin type intertial navigation system
  • Ben LMN4 loch
  • Furuno depth measure system
  • Navstar GPS system
  • Taiyo gonio VHF radio
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • ARBG-1A Saïgon
  • 2 Dagaie decoy systems
Armament:
Aircraft carried:
Panther helicopter

Source: wikiwand.com

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