French Navy ship La Moqueuse in Auckland, Dunedin

French Navy ship La Moqueuse in Auckland and Dunedin

La Moqueuse, a French Navy patrol vessel familiar to many Kiwis from an earlier visit in October 2008, is returning to New Zealand.

After joint exercises with HMNZS Taupo north of Auckland, she will be moored at Auckland’s Princes Wharf from the morning of Friday 26 February to the morning of Tuesday 2 March. She will then leave New Zealand’s biggest city for Dunedin, where she will be arriving at Birch Street Wharf on the morning of Friday 5 March before leaving for her home port of Nouméa in New Caledonia via Cook Strait on the morning of Monday 8 March.

The vessel’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Xavier Bagot (biography attached), will be happy to welcome TV, radio and newspaper journalists aboard La Moqueuse for interviews. The French Embassy’s Press Service can organise a time suitable for both media and crew.

La Moqueuse can also be visited by the general public. Why not complement a pleasant stroll along the waterfront with an educational visit aboard a compact and reliable navy ship? You will be able to do so in Auckland on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February from 9.00 am to 11.00 am and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm, and in Dunedin on Saturday 6 March and Sunday 7 March from 9.00 am to 11.00 am and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

La Moqueuse’s main activity is patrolling the Exclusive Economic Zones of the South Pacific to monitor fishing vessels and intercept suspected smugglers. Her 30 crew members (including three officers) therefore make an important contribution to security on the ocean. She is 54 m long, 8 m wide, and has a displacement of 440 tonnes. Her two 4000 horsepower diesel engines power two fixed pitch propellers. Her range at 15 knots is 4200 nautical miles. She carries one 40 mm cannon, one 20 mm cannon and two 7.62 mm machine guns. Her computer navigational radar detects other vessels from up to 15 nautical miles away.

ENDS

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