The visiting French naval vessel Arago has been engaged in surveillance patrols, Cook Islands Police confirmed last night.

The vessel arrived in Rarotonga yesterday morning and will be here until Tuesday.

Cook Islands Police Commissioner James Keenan yesterday welcomed the patrol vessel’s Captain and second in command. Following the courtesy call, the guests joined members of the Police staff in a social get-together. 

The patrol boat based in Tahiti, French Polynesia provide missions of sovereignty and protection of French exclusive economic zones (EEZ), intervention against maritime pollution and in favour of the preservation of the environment, as well as rescue and assistance to people.

Named after the French physicist and astronomer, François Arago, the boat was commissioned in 1991. Its first role was to serve as a Nitro Graphic ship and she first arrived in French Polynesia in 1992, where hydrographers worked on maps of French Polynesia and the Pacific Ocean.

The Arago then returned to France and was transformed into a patrol boat, sailing back to Tahiti in 2012, where it has been patrolling around the French E.E.Z.