Two French minesweepers are heading to the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, the French navy confirmed on Friday.
"The two Tripartite (class) mine hunters - L'Aigle and Céphée - have been loaded on to a specialised chartered vessel to reach their future area of operation," the Navy tweeted with video of the loading.
Another tweet read: "They will soon be deployed in the Indian Ocean and in the Arab Gulf for a mine warfare mission in order to participate in the safety of maritime traffic in these areas of strategic interest."
The mission could be primarily an anti-terrorism or anti-piracy deployment.
Updated: January 23, 2021, 5:56 PM