FRENCH WARSHIP

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Thémis assisted in rescue of migrants

In the morning of Jan 31, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several migrant boats were in difficulty in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais and deployed the 'Thémis' and the semi-rigid 'President Jacques Lebrun' from the SNSM station Boulogne-sur-Mer. The patrol boat Thémis recovered 14 people on board, who were taken to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and taken care of by the land rescue services and the border police. Later in the morning, the CROSS Gris-Nez engaged the mine warfare experimentation vessel BEGM Thétis, of the French Navy, to assist a second boat in difficulty off the coast of Audresselles. The crew of the 'Thétis' rescued the people on board the precarious boat. While the operation was underway, the weather deteriorated with stronger winds and increasingly rough seas. The CROSS Gris-Nez then engaged the 'Abeille Normandie'. 27 people were rescued by the crew of the 'Thétis' and then taken care of by land rescue teams at the dock in Calais. At the same time, the crew of the 'Abeille Normandie' rescued 28 people and dropped them off at the quayside in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of by shore based emergency services.

Mine hunter deployed to troubled migrant boat

In the night of Sep 26, 2023, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a boat of migrants had set sail in Authie Bay. It then deployed the 'Thétis' to check the condition of the boat. At the same time, a land gendarmerie patrol reported that the same boat had run aground and was torn apart on rocks shortly after leaving Authie Bay, in the Berck sector. The CROSS deployed the hovercraft 'Maxime Touchais', from the SNSM station at Berck-sur-Mer and a rescue and victim assistance vehicle (VSAV) of the departmental fire and rescue service to the scene of the shipwreck. The crew of the hovercraft recovered eight people on board and then the broken boat. The other 11 people were recovered and taken care of ashore by the police and firefighters. All castaways were taken care of by the emergency services. The state of health of three of them, showing signs of hypothermia, required medical assistance from the VSAV.

150 migrants rescued in several missions

In the morning and during the day of Feb 22, 2023, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several boats were in difficulty in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais. The 'Thétis' rescued 39 shipwrecked people, including two sick people. Given the latter's state of health, the 'Thétis' contacted the CROSS, which set up a conference call with the maritime medical coordination service in Le Havre. A medical evacuation was recommended, and the CROSS then engaged the lifeboat 'SNS 276-Notre-Dame-des-Flandres' of the SNSM station in Gravelines, which picked up the two patients and dropped them off at the quay at Gravelines where they were taken care of by firefighters. The 'Thétis' brought the 37 others to the port of Calais where they were taken care of by the departmental fire and rescue operational center and the border police. The hydrographic vessel 'Laplace' of the French Navy rescued 26 shipwrecked people. The castaways were dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The emergency tug 'Abeille Normandie' rescued 40 shipwrecked people and dropped them off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The patrol boat 'Jeanne Barret' rescued 45 shipwrecked people and dropped them off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.