Courbet (F 712)
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The Courbet is the third light multipurpose frigate of the La Fayette class of the French Navy . It was the third ship to be named after the French admiral Amédée-Anatole Courbet .
Known missions
The Courbet took part in the Opération Baliste . On October 3, 2006, an Israeli fighter jet broke into the ship's two nautical miles of defense without answering calls, sparking a diplomatic incident between the two countries. Israel apologized after official protests by the French government.
In September 2008, the ship was involved in anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast and helped free a yacht that was captured by pirates on September 2nd.
As of December 2009, accompanied Courbet the Jeanne d'Arc on her last journey. The final voyage of the helicopter carrier, who served in the French Navy for 46 years, included visits to Africa, South America including Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, the French West Indies, the United States including New York City and Canada. The trip was completed in May 2010.
Operation Sea Guardian
As part of Operation Sea Guardian , the Courbet crossed the southern Mediterranean in June 2020 to enforce the arms embargo against Libya . On June 10, an attempt was made to inspect the Tanzanian flag cargo ship Çirkin , which was accompanied by two Turkish military ships. The Çirkin had previously opposed an inspection by the Greek ship Spetsai , which was used for Operation Irini in the Mediterranean.
According to the French representation, the Çirkin refused to announce the port of destination and the cargo. Should instead the escort ship TCG Gokova the Courbet three times with the fire control radar have detected. This would be viewed as a hostile act and would contradict NATO's rules of engagement and would be unique between allied nations. The Turkish side rejected the allegations. The French ship would have approached the Çirkin with a dangerous maneuver and excessive speed of 20 knots . This would contradict NATO guidelines and security regulations. They were not targeted, but followed by a camera. There was no response to the radio message from the Turkish ship.
On June 18, 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he would investigate the allegations. Since Operation Sea Guardian could not stop the Turkish arms deliveries, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the French withdrawal from the operation on July 1, 2020.
