French POM Auguste Bénébig Departs Freo

Freo Today. 26 February 2026. This is the French overseas patrol vessel (POM) Auguste Bénébig departing Fremantle yesterday. Les Moyle of Balm Commercial Photography snapped this super shot of her leaving from his eye high in the sky! The patrol vessel spent a nice relaxing time alongside at C Berth on Victoria Quay for a few days before pushing off for Hobart.

Since June 2025, the Auguste Bénébig has been deployed in the permanent area of responsibility (ZRP) of the armed forces in New Caledonia (FANC). This deployment followed the vessel’s participation in Operation Nasse 2025 organised by the United States under Operation 365 to combat illegal fishing coordinated by the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre (RFSC). She seems to have arrived in the area around March last year.

On 4 September 2025, she participated in the mobile Fleet Review celebrating the 50th Independence Day of Papua New Guinea. The review was held at the Port Moresby harbour. A total of seven warships from five nations took part in the review formation.

The vessel then made its first official port visit to Suva on 8 November 2025. During the vessel’s visit, its crew observed Remembrance Day celebration, marking a new chapter in the longstanding friendship between France and Fiji.

She’s recently into Freo from Dili, East Timor, and her next stop is listed as Hobart.

It seems Auguste Bénébig is on something of a goodwill tour of the Indo-Pacific region, which is rather confirmed by the news that Alliance Francaise de Melbourne is hosting a special visit for its members aboard the Auguste Bénébig in Port Melbourne on 13 March!

So it’s quite true what the US Navy advertised in 1904: ‘Join the Navy and see the world!’.

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By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News