page_title: French frigate Nivôse
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: French frigate Nivôse / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: Nivôse leaving the V and A harbour in Cape Town.
context_page_description: Nivôse is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. The frigate is the third ship of the class and the fourth French vessel named after the fourth month of the Republican Calendar. Nivôse was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France in 1991 and entered service in 1992. The frigate is stationed in the French Pacific territories for patrol duties.
context_section_description: Nivôse was ordered as part of the second pair on 9 January 1990 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique for construction at their yard in Saint-Nazaire, France and the keel was laid down on 16 January 1991. The frigate was built using modular construction methods which reduced the vessel's construction time. Nivôse was launched on 10 August 1991 and commissioned into the French Navy on 16 October 1992. Following sea trials, Nivôse sailed for Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient where the weapons and sensors were installed and underwent further trials.
  After entering service, Nivôse was based at Port des Galets, Réunion to patrol France's Pacific territories. In December 2000, the frigate caught the fishing vessel Vedra illegally fishing south east of Kerguelen. After taking control of Vedra and heading for Port des Galets, the two ships came upon another vessel, Grand Prince, illegally fishing. Grand Prince was halted and boarded and all three vessels sailed for Réunion. On 27 July 2001, while sailing off the coast of Somalia, Nivôse received a distress call from Diana, which was afire. The crew of Diana had abandoned ship and were in the water in heavy seas. The frigate dispatched its helicopter and the 16 crew were rescued of which 15 were transported to the cargo ship Maersk San Jose. The sixteenth crew member was taken to Nivôse to receive medical treatment. In October 2001, Nivôse was deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
  In January 2003, Nivôse intercepted and captured the fishing vessel Lince off the Kerguelen coast after it was spotted illegally fishing for toothfish. Lince, a vessel known for illegal fishing, was found to have 160 tonnes (160 long tons; 180 short tons) of toothfish aboard and was taken to Port des Galets under escort by both Nivôse and the patrol vessel La Boudeuse. In March 2004, the frigate was deployed in support of Madagascar after Typhoon Galifo hit the island nation. Later that year in September, Nivôse with the patrol vessel La Rieuse, intercepted a flotilla of six Japanese fishing vessels illegally fishing in French waters. Two Japanese ships were boarded,  Koryu Maru 38 and Chokyu Maru 38, and 150 tonnes (150 long tons; 170 short tons) of illegally caught tuna was found in their holds. The two fishing vessels were escorted into Port des Galets. In November 2004, the frigate intercepted the Taiwanese fishing vessel Ruey Shyang 11 after it was spotted illegally fishing 210 kilometres (130 mi) southwest of Réunion. In 2006, the frigate underwent a three-month long maintenance period at Dubai. 
  In late 2008, under frigate captain French: capitaine de frégate Jean-Marc Le Quilliec, Nivôse was deployed as part of a European Union expeditionary force, Operation Atalanta, in the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy off Somalia. On 12 April 2009, Nivôse relieved her sister ship Floréal as part the operation. On 15 April 2009, she captured eleven pirates 900 km (560 mi) east of Mombasa, and thwarted an attack on the Liberian-registered merchantman Safmarine Asia. On 3 May 2009, 900 km off Somalia, the crew managed to lure pirates to attack the ship by sailing into the sun to avoid being identified and mistaken for a merchant vessel; as the pirates closed in, Nivôse turned about and launched a helicopter and fast outboard vessels. Eleven pirates were captured. From 5 to 7 March 2010, joining mission forces from France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden, Nivôse intercepted four mother ships and arrested 35 pirates in three days off Somalia. The frigate sank two of the mother ships.
  On 29 March 2014, Nivôse intercepted five fishing vessels illegally fishing off Juan de Nova Island. During the night of 29/30 September 2014, Nivôse was severely damaged by a fire off Réunion which broke out in the engine room. Floréal assisted in firefighting operations. The ship was disabled and Nivôse was towed first by Floréal and then by the tugboat Bougainville into Port des Galets. The frigate was taken to Mauritius to undergo repairs. The ship returned to service after nearly 13 months in November 2015.
  In
caption: Nivôse departing Cape Town, South Africa
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