The “Marianne” mission took the two vessels to the Philippine Sea via the South China Sea, the Sunda Strait, the Mariana Trench, Australia and the U.S. base on Guam Island where the two ships carried out a crew change. The French Navy (Marine Nationale)’s Chief of Staff, Admiral Pierre Vandier, and the Commander of the French Submarine and Strategic Oceanic Force (ALFOST) Vice-Admiral Jean-Philippe Chaineau, were airlifted to spend the last hours of the mission at sea with the submarine’s crew.
Admiral Pierre Vandier expressed to the assembled personnel the gratitude of the French Navy and the French authorities through a paradigm: “Joy and Pride”.
This unprecedented deployment of more than seven months saw the two units cover 30,000 nautical miles in 199 days at sea. It also led the submarine’s crews to demonstrate their know-how during exercises with allied navies (India, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, United States). The BSAM, designed to accompany the missions of the Rubis-class and Suffren-class submarines, was able to provide support to the Émeraude throughout its mission. This cooperation is a perfect example of the French Navy’s ability to prepare and deploy far away in long-duration operations.
