VIDEO. Stopover in Sète 2024: immediate boarding aboard the minehunter Capricorne

Le Capricorne embarque à son bord 45 marins, de toutes spécialités, entre 18 et 40 ans. Midi Libre – VICTOR GUILLOTEAU

The French military ship has been docked since Thursday on Escale à Sète 2024. It is open for visits until Monday.

The arrival at the quay, Thursday around 1:30 p.m., of its 51 meters, did not go unnoticed. The tripartite mine hunter (CMT) Capricorne, owned by the French Navy, is stopping in Sète until Monday. Its crew will welcome visitors in small groups. An obligation, as its narrow corridors force you to make yourself very small.

This multi-purpose combat vessel aims to detect, identify, then destroy or neutralize mines, in depths of 10 to 80 meters. & quot;It's a French mine hunter based in Toulon, whose mission is to look for mines and countermine, summarizes Commander Stéphane Méline, lieutenant captain. It has 45 sailors on board, who are of all specialties, between 18 and 40 years old."

Based in Toulon, it operates from the Baltic Sea to the Arab-Persian Gulf

Based in Toulon and owned by France since 1997, it also provides guidance for convoys under threat of mines, as well as carrying out work under the sea and searching for wrecks, thanks in particular to in the clearance divers competition. "It has the specificity of being discreet, both magnetically and acoustically, adds Commander Méline. We have eight buildings of this class in France: six in Brest and two in Toulon. We obviously operate on the French coast, since there is a lot of work to do. But we work everywhere, from the Baltic Sea to the Arabian Gulf."

Interior tours

Inside the building, the public, accompanied by one or more sailors, will have the privilege of visiting the passageways, taking a look into the operations center, passing through the room rest, climb onto the navigation bridge, or even go down to the MES PC, more commonly called the command post. "This is part of our communication missions around our professions, as we do throughout the year", specifies Commander Méline.