French nuclear submarine Emeraude patrolled in South China Sea.

According to a press release published by NDTV on February 9, 2021, a French nuclear-propelled attack submarine and warship patrolled in the South China Sea to underscore freedom of navigation in international waterways, the Armed Forces Ministry said on Tuesday.
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Émeraude is a nuclear attack submarine from the first generation of attack submarines of the French Navy. (Picture source: Twitter)

The SNA Emeraude was accompanied by support ship BSAM Seine for the passage, Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Twitter late Monday.

Emeraude is the 4th of 6 Rubis-class SSN. Multi-role platforms in constant evolution, the 6 SSN of the French Navy are essential to the safety and the support of French SSBN (ballistic missile subrines) operations and to the protection of a naval projection force (the carrier strike group). They pose a "permanent threat" to potential enemies because of their ability to quickly reach a theater of operations and remain there for a long time, discreetly or, if necessary, more ostensibly. In all these zones of operations, the SSN can collect intelligence, carry out special operations, and finally, if necessary, deploy its weapons: torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and mines.

The Emeraude S604 was commissioned in 1988 and used for both anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. The submarine has a length of 73.6 m, a beam of 7.6 m, and a draught of 6.4 m. It has a crew of 70 people including 10 officers.