page_title: French frigate Vendémiaire
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: French frigate Vendémiaire / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: French Navy ship Vendémiaire (F734) (Floréal class frigate) undergoing maintenance at the base in Nouméa, New Caledonia. Note the scaffolding along the superstructure, and that the superstructure of the FS Jacques Cartier L9033, a nearby BATRAL landing ship, is visible over the foredeck.
context_page_description: Vendémiaire is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. She is the fifth ship of the class, and is named after Vendémiaire, the first month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed at Saint-Nazaire, France in 1992 and entered service in 1993. Vendémiaire is stationed in the French Pacific territories for patrol duties.
context_section_description: Vendémiaire 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 January 1992. The frigate was built using modular construction methods which reduced the vessel's construction time. Vendémiaire was launched on 23 August 1992 and commissioned into the French Navy on 21 October 1993. Following sea trials, Vendémiaire sailed for Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient where the weapons and sensors were installed and underwent further trials.
  Vendémiaire was assigned to Nouméa, New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. The frigate was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 20 September to 17 November 1999.
  The ship went on a tour of China in 2011, stopping at Hong Kong. Vendémiaire was opened to the public 17 April 2011 in Hong Kong. The ship visited the city again from 26 February to 2 March 2018, being opened for public tours. In October 2013 the vessel participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney, Australia. 
  From 1 to 3 June 2015, Vendémiaire performed French sovereignty missions to Matthew Island and Hunter Island. In 2015, following Cyclone Pam France ordered Vendémiaire to sail from Nouméa to Vanuatu to conduct surveys along with aircraft from the island territory.
  After the Cyclone Pam operations, Vendémiaire sailed to Wellington, New Zealand in April 2016 to take part in the ANZAC commemorations. In May 2016, the frigate stopped at Busan, South Korea for joint training with the Republic of Korea Navy. On 27 July 2017, the ship intercepted 1.4 tonnes (1.5 tons) of cocaine from the sailing vessel Afalina off the coast of Tonga. From 17–21 February 2018, the frigate visited Incheon, South Korea, performing joint operations with the Republic of Korea Navy.
  On 6 April 2019, Vendémiaire sailed through the Taiwan Strait, shadowed by Chinese naval forces. China issued a diplomatic protest after Vendémiaire allegedly violated Chinese territorial waters; France holds that the Taiwan Strait is international waters and claimed a right to freedom of navigation. Vendémiaire was subsequently absent at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy at Qingdao, which she had been scheduled to attend. In September 2019, Vendémiaire joined naval units from the Royal Australian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for naval exercises off the coast of Australia.
caption: Vendémiaire alongside at Nouméa
exif: {}