The second stage of the naval campaign in South-East Asia and Australia by ship ended on 14 January in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Carabiniere. After crossing the Mediterranean, in support of the operation Sea Guardian, and the Indian Ocean, in support of the Atalanta operation, the 11 last January the unit landed in the main port city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka.
During the stop the ship commander Carabiniere, frigate captain Francesco Pagnotta, met the Italian ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Paolo Andrea Bartorelli and various authorities including the commander of the Western Naval Area, Division Admiral Jayanta De Silva, Chief of Staff of the Sinhalese Navy, Division Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe, Director General of Budget and Finance, Division Admiral Damian Fernando, Director General of Operations, Division Admiral Dharmendra Wettewa, Director general of engineering, divisional admiral Rohitha Premasiri, the director of naval projects and plans, commodore Sudath Kurukulasooriya.
The unit also received a visit aboard a representation of Sri Lankan navy officers. The commander also held a press conference on board, illustrating the objectives of the naval campaign, the potential of the FREMMs and the new naval projects undertaken by the Navy.
In the presence of the commander, the deputy head of the mission of the Italian embassy in Sri Lanka and Maldives, Giandomenico Milano, and the defense officer in Sri Lanka, captain Marco Terrinoni, a portion of the crew went to the Commonwealth War Graves Military Cemetery in Colombo, where it commemorated the fall of 21 Italian soldiers in Sri Lanka during World War II.
"It is with great emotion that today we gather here in Colombo, in Sri Lanka, in a place far away geographically, but as close as ever emotionally to us because we are faced with the fallen Italians". These are some of the words of the commander in front of the war memorial, who added:"Today we sail on a technologically advanced frigate equipped with internet and telephones, but let's think about how it could once have been far from loved ones, without ever feeling, and fighting a war in conditions of great difficulty. These fallen people have contributed to creating a better society and deserve our highest respect".
The naval campaign, begun in La Spezia last December 20, will bring the ship to touch on some ports in Australia and South-East Asia in the coming months, including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan and Oman.
Ship Carabiniere will be committed to ensuring maritime presence and surveillance, carrying out joint training activities with local marinas, as well as conducting dialogue and cooperation activities as well as Maritime Capacity Building, giving the campaign an important value in the field of humanitarian assistance and support. Cooperation activities already underway with some trans-regional allies will also be strengthened and relations with new potential partners will be initiated, in the framework of the institutional tasks entrusted to the Armed Forces.
During his journey, as usual on such occasions, he will ship Carabiniere will promote Italian excellence to a wide range through the organization of social, cultural and promotion events of the image of Italy, in collaboration with the national diplomatic representations in the countries subject to parking.
The Nave campaign Carabiniere it reflects an international vision that describes this beginning of the millennium as a "blue century". That of "blue growth" is considered a key factor on which to focus for a sustainable development of our country, in a context where seafaring represents a fundamental resource for commercial, employment and technological growth.
The initiative was born with the collaboration of Fincantieri (main sponsor), Leonardo, MBDA Italia, Elettronica and Telespazio.
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