French naval ships arrive in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post  |  Sat, 02/21/2009 3:42 PM  

 

  A French Navy officer rides an exercise bike on board of the Jeanne d’Arc helicopter carrier on Saturday. The carrier together with the Georges Leygues antisubmarine warfare destroyer and 121 cadets from various countries, including one from Indonesia, arrived in Jakarta on Saturday on a goodwill mission. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

 

INDONESIA: The French Navy's helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc and the antisubmarine warfare (ASW) destroyer Georges Leygues will arrive in Jakarta on Saturday on a goodwill mission, the French Embassy said Friday.

 

"The Jeanne d'Arc functions as a basic training ship for naval cadets. In the 2008/2009 batch, there are 121 cadets, including one from Indonesia," the embassy said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

 

Both ships, which have a combined crew of 795 people, took part in the humanitarian mission in the tsunami-hit Aceh in 2005, the embassy said.

 

The captain of the 182-meter-long Jeanne d'Arc is Herve Blejean, while the Georges Leygues is under the command of Thierry Catard.

 

Both ships, which began their journey from the French port of Brest on Dec. 9, 2008, will leave Jakarta on Feb. 26.

 

The embassy also said that a French delegation under the leadership of Brest Mayor Francois Cuillandre was in the town to strengthen relations between the two countries. - JP