On December 28, 2024, on the flight deck of Nave Luigi Rizzo At the Mar Grande Naval Station in Taranto, Division Admiral Andrea Petroni handed over the tactical command of the operation Safe Mediterranean to Rear Admiral Gianguido Manganaro.
The ceremony was presided over by the Commander in Chief of the Naval Squadron and Commander of the European Maritime Force, Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, connected via video conference from on board the ship Amerigo Vespucci in port in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as part of the world tour of the sailing ship, which wanted to be present "alongside" the men and women of the Navy who daily continue to guarantee the institutional tasks of the armed force in the Mediterranean region even at this particular time of year.
"I believe that this device has continued to give concrete proof of the presence of Italy and its Navy in the Mediterranean, continuing to concentrate its commitment in the defense of those vital national interests that are intertwined in the mare nostrum and that now more than ever must be preserved and safeguarded due to the growing tensions that reverberate on the Mediterranean basin. Allow me to express my deepest gratitude to all the crews who accompanied me during these two months of intense activity: officers, petty officers, sailors who each according to their skills, despite the distance from home and their families, in a holiday period like this - where being far away becomes more burdensome - carried out their function with zeal and professionalism.
Without your daily commitment and your uninterrupted dedication, nothing of what we have achieved would have been possible. Allow me to close with a thought of pride: Operation Mediterraneo sicuro, even more than a set of assets and operational activities, is a community of intent, a team that knows no obstacles, united by the firm will to ensure stability, security and free use of the sea, to protect national interests", these are the words of Admiral Petroni at the conclusion of the event.
The naval air device played a fundamental role also during the 2 months that affected the 18th rotation of the operation Safe Mediterranean: there were numerous operational activities, training sessions and activities which involved the frigate Luigi Rizzo - with the EH-101 helicopter component and the remote-controlled ScanEagle of the Navy Air Force on board, as well as a team highly specialized in boarding activities of the marine brigade Saint Mark – further valuable naval and air assets of the armed force, including amphibious landing craft, offshore patrol vessels, minesweepers and a submarine, which will be delivered between the beginning of November and the end of December 2024.
All this has enabled the force commander at sea to fulfill the tasks of maritime surveillance and protection of pipelines on the seabed, international cooperation and, last but not least, operational readiness in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In particular, the flagship Luigi Rizzo carried out an intense program of exercises at sea both with merchant units of the national maritime cluster and with units of the other allied navies included in the Standing Nato Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) or integrated into the Carrier Strike Group of the US and French navies operating in the Mediterranean basin and, last but not least, with a frigate of the Turkish navy, so as to ensure important operations Key Leader Commitment both at sea and in port.
In fact, there was no lack of activity Naval Diplomacy on the occasion of the stops at Souda (Crete) and Alexandria in Egypt or those at Mersin (Turkey) and Limassol (Cyprus), not very recently frequent stops for Italian naval units, during which Admiral Petroni accompanied by the ship's commander Rizzo and a delegation of the flagship crew had the opportunity to meet numerous important local military and civil authorities, in addition to the Italian and other diplomatic delegations present in the area. There was also the opportunity to pay homage to the fallen overseas in foreign lands such as on the occasion of the visit to the Military Shrine of El Alamein.
Maritime surveillance operations, within the framework of the operation Safe backdrops, had a strategic importance thanks above all to the use of ships Viareggio and MHC units that have consistently carried out underwater and surface monitoring activities along the main energy pipelines and national infrastructures.
From aboard the frigate Alpine, which takes over as the new flagship of its class Luigi Rizzo, that Rear Admiral Manganaro will continue to support the naval fleet with his staff in line with what was already ensured by Admiral Petroni and all his predecessors.
