The Verseau is one of the 13 French Navy ships of this kind. It is 51.5 metres long, 8.90 metres wide and has a carrying capacity of 640 tonnes. Thirty-five of the 48-member crew are officers and the ship is one of the best minesweepers in the world, Captain Frederic Marcantonio said.
The ship has been in use since 1988 and was upgraded in 2004 like all other minesweepers of the French Navy.
The ship's captain and crew were received today by the Croatian Navy leadership and representatives of local authorities.
The first Croatian minesweeper will be launched on Saturday, when the joint exercise will be carried out.
Two Croatian officers will join the French crew and spend 15 days on their minesweeper.