French Southern Territories

The French Southern Territories (long name: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, French: Territoire des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises or Terres australes et antarctiques françaises or T.A.A.F. or TAAF) are antarctic, volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Africa and about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia.

Geography

The territory includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet, and Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean near 43°S, 67°E, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, Adélie Land, named by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville after his wife.

Related Topics:
Île Amsterdam - Île Saint-Paul - Îles Crozet - Îles Kerguelen - Sector - Adélie Land - Explorer - Jules Dumont d'Urville

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The "Adélie Land" of about 432,000 km² and the islands, totaling 7781 km², have no indigenous inhabitants, though in 1997 there were about 100 researchers whose numbers varied from winter (July) to summer (January).

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Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes; the highest point in the territory is Mont Ross on Îles Kerguelen at 1850 meters. There are no airstrips on the islands and the 1232 kilometers of coastline have no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages.

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The islands in the Indian Ocean are supplied by the special ship Marion Dufresne sailing out of Le Port in Réunion Island. Terre Adélie is supplied by Astrolabe sailing out of Hobart in Tasmania.

Related Topics:
Marion Dufresne - Le Port - Réunion Island - Astrolabe - Hobart - Tasmania

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However, the territory has a merchant marine fleet totaling (in 1999) 2,892,911 GRT / 5,165,713 DWT, including seven bulk carriers, five cargo ships, ten chemical tankers, nine container ships, six liquified gas carriers, 24 petroleum tankers, one refrigerated cargo ship, and ten roll-on/roll-off (RORO) carriers. This fleet is maintained as a subset of the French register that allowing French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissible under the main French register. This register, however, is now becoming largely extinct.

Related Topics:
Merchant marine - 1999 - GRT - DWT - RORO

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