Largest multinational maritime exercise kicks off in West Africa
The exercise dubbed Exercise Obaganme Express 2021 is aimed at improving tactical interdiction expertise in the fight against piracy and other maritime illegalities within the Gulf of Guinea.
CAPE TOWN, March 30 (ANA) – The Nigerian Navy and those of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and France have kicked off the largest annual multinational maritime exercise in West Africa, local and international media reported.
The exercise, dubbed Exercise Obaganme Express 2021, is aimed at improving tactical interdiction expertise in the fight against piracy and other maritime illegalities within the Gulf of Guinea. Losses from maritime piracy in West Africa amounted to more than US$800 million in 2017.
According to Nigerian news outlet Vanguard, the project will contribute to the freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Guinea by strengthening coordination in the fight against insecurity among member states.
Vanguard quoted United States Consul General to Nigeria Claire Pierangelo as saying maritime security, especially in the Gulf of Guinea, was a common interest for many nations, with no fewer than 16 countries sharing the same waters.
Citing a maritime watchdog, the news outlet said attacks on ships worldwide jumped 20 percent in 2020, driven by a record spate of kidnappings off West Africa and raising the need for increased sea patrols.
According to news broadcaster Al Jazeera, the Gulf of Guinea covers 11,000 square kilometres and stretches from Angola to Senegal.
The region is one of the world’s most important shipping routes for both oil exports from the Niger Delta and consumer goods to and from Central and West Africa, but is not very well guarded, observers say.
The Gulf of Guinea accounted for more than 95 percent of all maritime kidnappings in 2020 – 130 out of 135 cases, according to the International Maritime Bureau which monitors security at sea, Al Jazeera reported.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
