Germinal is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. She is the sixth and last ship of her class, and the first French vessel named after Germinal, the seventh month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992–1993 and entered service in 1994. The frigate has served in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas and the Gulf of Guinea. Germinal is stationed in the Antilles (Fort-de-France) for patrol duties in the Caribbean Sea.

Design and description

The Floréal-class frigates were designed in response to a demand for a cheap warship capable of operating in low threat areas and able to perform general patrol functions. As a result, the Floréal class were constructed to mercantile standards in the areas of ammunition stowage, helicopter facilities and damage control, which significantly lowered the cost of the vessels. The Floréal class were designed for using modular construction which shortened their building times. Germinal has a standard displacement of 2600 LT and 2950 LT at full load. The frigate measures 85.2 m long between perpendiculars and 93.5 m overall with a beam of 14 m and a draught of 4.3 m. Due to the frigate's broad beam, the ship is equipped with fin stabilisers. The frigate is powered by a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) system comprising four SEMT Pielstick 6 PA6 L280 BPC diesel engines driving two shafts each turning a LIPS controllable pitch propeller. The CODAD system is rated at 8820 hp The vessel is also equipped with one 272 hp bow thruster. Due to the mercantile construction design, the four diesels are all located within one machinery room for ease of maintenance. Both diesel fuel and TR5 aviation fuel is brought aboard at a single location at the stern compared to naval-constructed vessels which sport two. The ship also has three 750 kW diesel-electric generators located just fore and aft of the machinery room. Germinal has a maximum speed of 20 kn and a range of 9000 nmi at 15 kn. Germinal was armed with two Exocet MM38 surface-to-surface missiles in launchers situated centrally atop the midships superstructure. However, at the end of the missile's life cycle in 2014, the launchers were removed as the French Navy did not intend to replace the capability aboard the ships. The ship also mounts one 100 mm CADAM turret with the Najir fire control system located forwards and two 20 mm modèle F2 guns situated in atop the aft superstructure. The ship is equipped with DRBV-21C (Mars) air sentry, Racal Decca RM1290 navigation and Racal Decca RM1290 landing radars along with ARBG-1A Saïgon communications intercept, CSF ARBR 16A radar intercept electronic surveillance systems and two Dagaie decoy systems. The frigate is equipped with a 30 by helicopter landing pad located on the stern and a 10 by hangar. The ship is capable of operating the embarked Eurocopter AS565 Panther up to sea state 5. The ship is capable of operating helicopters up to the size of the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma. The ship has a complement of 90 including the aircrew and officers and 24 marines with capacity for a further 13 personnel.

Construction and career

Germinal was ordered as part of the third pair in January 1991 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique for construction at their yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and the keel was laid down on 17 August 1992. The frigate was built using modular construction methods, which reduced the vessel's construction time. Germinal was launched on 13 March 1993 and commissioned into the French Navy on 18 May 1994. Following sea trials, Germinal sailed for Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient where the weapons and sensors were installed and underwent further trials. The vessel is stationed in the Antilles (Fort-de-France) for patrol duties in the Caribbean Sea. In 1997, Germinal was part of the French naval presence in the Gulf of Guinea, known as the Corymbe Mission. That year, the frigate participated in Operation Espadon, evacuating French nationals from Sierra Leone. In January 2009, Germinal was reassigned from the UNIFIL mission along the Lebanese coast to a surveillance mission along the Gaza coast for ten days, beginning on 24 January. In 2014, while stationed at Fort-de-France, Martinique, the frigate intercepted a smuggler go-fast boat with 595 kg of cocaine aboard. The smugglers were turned over to the Colombian frigate ARC Caldas. In March 2015, Germinal, with support, intercepted another go-fast, this time 50 nmi off the coast of Barbados. The frigate seized 124 kg of cocaine and 33 kg of marijuana. On 19 June 2015 Germinal caught up with a sailboat making a trans-Atlantic crossing 250 nmi southeast of Martinique. The two crew of the sailboat were apprehended and 93.5 kg of cocaine intended for Europe was seized. In April 2016, Germinal caught another go-fast, roughly 50 km from the Martinique coast and seized 700 kg of marijuana. In October, the frigate intercepted a transfer of 55 kg of cocaine between a go fast and a fishing boat 75 km from Dominica. Then on the night of 17/18 November, while operating off the coast of Guajira Peninsula, Colombia, Germinal took part in the chase of another go-fast, seizing 780 kg of cocaine. In September 2017, Germinal, with sister ship FRENCH FRIGATE Ventôse, was deployed to Saint Martin after the island was hit by Hurricane Irma. Departing Saint Martin on 9 October, Germinal sailed for the Gulf of Guinea as part of the Corymbe Mission until December. In 2018, Germinal underwent a four-month overhaul at Fort-de-France. On 20 July 2018, the frigate seized 53 bundles of cocaine weighing a combined 1506 kg. Germinal intercepted a sailboat with two crew at sea. The crew set the sailboat on fire and jumped overboard and were collected by the frigate. Germinal's crew successfully extinguished the fire aboard the sailboat and then boarded it. The frigate took the two prisoners and the sailboat back to Fort-de-France. In 2022 the frigate operated with the amphibious assault ship FRENCH SHIP Tonnerre in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea. In March 2023, she deployed to the Pacific for two months via the Panama Canal to conduct sovereignty surveillance missions in the French Pacific territories, while also carrying out port visits in Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. In April 2023, the frigate visited the uninhabited French territory of Clipperton Island to carry out sovereignty protection duties.

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