On 14 December, the Patrol Boat Arago of the Armed Forces in French Polynesia (FAPF) reached Papeete after 3 weeks of deployment as part of the AQUARIUS mission. Deployed since 21 November, the Arago has carried out several patrols and operational releases in neighbouring South Pacific states.
During the first phase of her mission, the Arago patrolled the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of French Polynesia where she intercepted and neutralized two drifting fishing aggregating devices (FADs).
The Arago then patrolled international waters, where it acted under the mandate of the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, a regional fisheries management organization of which France is a member. The patrol boat then travelled to the EEZs of neighbouring South Pacific states, such as Kiribati, the Cook Islands, American Samoa and Niue. These patrols to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in foreign EEZs were carried out in support of Operation OP365 coordinated by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).
The Arago has carried out several operational releases during these various patrols in order to carry out exercises and actions in cooperation with the local maritime security forces. In particular, at the request of the Niue authorities, it carried out a reconnaissance of a wreck that had run aground in their EEZ. In the Cook Islands, the sailors carried out two exercises to compare the respective modes of action of the inspection teams of the Arago and the Te Kukupa II, the patrol boat of the local police force.