First Of Two French Mistral Warships Reaches Egypt

Egypt has received the first of two French-made Mistral warships sold by France after it cancelled their sale to Russia.

The Mistral assault ship approached the main port on Egypt’s northern coast Alexandria Thursday.

The ship, named Gamal Abdel Nasser, left the shipyard of Saint-Nazaire on France's Atlantic coast on June 12.

Its sister ship, which is to be named after assassinated Egyptian leader Anwar al-Sadat, is expected to arrive in Alexandria in September. The two ships were originally intended for sale to Russia.

In August 2015, Paris and Moscow formally terminated the 1.2-billion-euro (some $1.3 billion at current exchange rates) deal on the construction and delivery of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers.

Egypt emerged as France’s replacement customer for the Mistrals in September, following the Paris and Moscow’s termination of a 2011 deal on construction and delivery of the two ships.

In November 2014, France had suspended the contract, citing Moscow's alleged participation in the Ukrainian conflict as a reason to terminate the deal.

In October 2015, Egypt and France signed a contract to buy two Mistral-class helicopter carriers originally built for Russia.