There are traditions and recurrences in seafaring culture that represent real stages to be accomplished, moments in the life of a sailor that leave their mark because they project into the immensity of adventures that only those who go to sea can perceive. The transit of the Suez Canal is one of them.
Last April 11 Ship Morosini, engaged in the transfer to the Far East, crossed the Suez Canal , leaving its home seas and heading east. Beyond the symbolic passage in leaving the Mare Nostrum, this occasion has a particular value as it represents the first activity of the Unit beyond the Mediterranean basin. For the young PPA crew it is the first confrontation with a distant operational reality, a stage that represents only the beginning of the intense out-of-area period of about five months that will see it go as far as the seas of Japan, becoming the promoter of the country system in an area characterized by charm and opportunity.
The crossing, which lasted just over 11 hours, saw the crew carry out careful planning and careful coordination in teamwork, while highlighting mixed emotions and feelings. On the one hand the amazement and enthusiasm of those who faced this experience for the first time, on the other the memory of those who after years or months found themselves repeating it with a renewed spirit and with a new crew.
After crossing the Suez Canal the vessel provided logistic support to Nave Sentinel part of the Multinational Forces Observers (MFO) based in Sinai.
Once you have crossed the gates of the Red Sea, all that remains is to wish Nave's crew fair winds Morosini.
