A French sailor appears to have inadvertently revealed the location of an aircraft carrier – by recording a workout on his smartwatch.
The sailor was running on the deck of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier as it headed for the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid the growing conflict between the US and Iran on March 13.
He recorded the 4.3-mile, 35-minute exercise on his smartwatch, which was uploaded to his public account on the fitness app Strava, French newspaper Le Monde reported on Thursday.
The French navy’s flagship, the Charles de Gaulle, is the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in operation outside the US military.
France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, had deployed it and several frigates in the days following the start of US-Israeli strikes in late February to protect shipping routes from Iranian attack.
Four days before the sailor recorded his run, Mr Macron had given a speech aboard the carrier, which had been rerouted from exercises in the North Atlantic.
Mr Macron had deployed the carrier in the days after the US-Israeli strikes – Shutterstock
“France is there to protect its own, to be at the side of its allies and friends who are being hit,” he said, explaining why he had asked his navy to carry out the manoeuvre.
“Your presence today demonstrates the power of France, a balancing power, one of peace,” he added.
While the presence of the carrier in the region was “no secret”, Le Monde noted, the sailor had “revealed, almost in real time, [the ship’s] exact location”.
0403 Charles de Gaulle (R91) profile
The outlet has repeatedly warned about the security risks associated with Strava. It has previously used public data from the app to find sensitive data on bodyguards for world leaders – including US presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and Russian president Vladimir Putin – and revealed patrol schedules of French nuclear submarines.
The Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping channel through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes – has been effectively closed since the start of the conflict in Iran.
Mr Trump has called on allies to help reopen it and is reportedly mulling deploying thousands of troops to the Middle East.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the French government – along with Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Canada – said they would “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait”.
