The French navy is tracking suspicious boats on the drug route, between Latin America and Europe via Africa. In 2023, its operations enabled the interception of 30 tonnes of narcotics.
The Ventôse and its 113 sailors were being shaken for nothing. With waves of three and a half meters and wind gusts of 35 knots, no go fast, full of bales of cocaine or not, would have been crazy enough to take to the sea. The action having become momentarily impossible, the commander decided to place his surveillance frigate sheltered from the wind, on the nearby island of Curaçao.