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For now, the Hermione has avoided bankruptcy. The court in La Rochelle has granted its association an additional six months, but takeover bids have been rejected. The frigate, which has been moored in Anglet since 2021, is still awaiting the funding needed to complete its restoration.
Two buyback offers rejected by the court
The La Rochelle Judicial Court has granted the Hermione?La Fayette Association a third and final six-month probationary period, effective September 18, 2026. This decision, handed down on October 1, allows the organization?which has been under court-supervised restructuring since September 2025?to continue its operations.
At the same time, the court rejected the two remaining takeover proposals, submitted by Tugdual Jaouen and Christophe Degnero. The Rochefort International Maritime Center, for its part, had withdrawn its proposal.
The association will therefore continue to manage the ship, but must now present a credible recovery plan. The next hearing is scheduled for April 14, 2027.
Nearly 5 million euros still need to be raised
The financial situation is directly linked to the condition of the hull. Since September 2021, the Hermione has been out of service in dry dock at Anglet, in the Port of Bayonne, following the discovery of significant wood damage caused by wood-destroying fungi.
The cost of the restoration has been estimated at approximately 10 million euros. According to information provided by the association, more than half of the work has been completed or funded. However, nearly 5 million euros still need to be raised to complete the repairs.
Donations, corporate sponsorship, and admission fees help fund the organization's operations, but are not yet sufficient to cover all costs. The actual resumption of construction therefore depends on new financial commitments.
A well-maintained hull, but the project remains on hold
Despite the suspension of restoration work, the association continues to maintain the three-masted ship. It reports that a technical inspection conducted on September 11, 2026, by several specialized companies revealed neither accelerated aging in the dry dock nor any new fungal infestation.
This finding is encouraging for the ship's preservation, but it does not resolve the issue of its restoration. Before considering returning the ship to the water, structural repairs must be completed, and the vessel's seaworthiness must be verified.
The court's decision thus provides time, not a definitive solution. For L'Hermione, the challenge in the coming months will be to turn the support it has garnered into available funding in order to resume construction before the April 2027 court deadline.
