French aviso FS Commandant Ducuing wraps up second operation Sophia stint this year

French Navy’s D’Estienne d’Orves-class aviso FS Ducuing completed its second deployment to the European Union’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia.

Taking over from FS Commandant Birot, Ducuing spent 43 days deployed to the Mediterranean Sea where it helped fight people- and arms smugglers operating from Libya.

The ship’s crew carried out a number commercial and fishing vessel inspections and contributed to the rescue of 170 people off the coast of Libya.

The ship operated under the command of Spanish Rear Admiral Javier Moreno who leads operation Sophia from aboard Spanish Navy replenishment oiler ESPS Cantabria.

En route home, Commander Ducuing made a stopover in Malta during the international summit Our Ocean 2017, which took place early October.

The FS Ducuing Commander is replaced by sister ship FS Premier-Maître L’Her as the French contribution to the Mediterranean Sea mission.