Greek ship in training and solidarity activities in the port of Aqaba

17/06/15

The June 14 ship Grecale during a three-day stop in Jordan in the port of Aqaba, carried out at the end of the Atalanta mission before the expected return to the Mediterranean, saw its crew engaged in joint training with the Jordanian navy in the field of surveillance maritime and in solidarity works in favor of a rehabilitation center and support for disabled children.

The stop took place in the context of bilateral cooperation between the marinas of Jordan and Italy.

The intense activity with the local military and civil community began with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and the Marina San Marco on-board Brigade teams involved with the fees of the Jordanian navy jointly developing training themes focusing on:

- inspection activities on board the merchant ships, sharing experiences with the personnel of the Marina San Marco Brigade and conducting an exercise on boarding and inspecting a merchant ship, simulated by a Grecale ship;

- identification and blasting of an IED (improvised explosive device) on board by carrying out, with the staff of the COMSUBIN Underwater Operating Group on board of Nave Grecale, theoretical lessons and practical exercises that have gathered the interest and enthusiasm of the Jordanian military .

In addition, on-board specialist staff, in connection with CINCNAV operators, has provided technical support to the local Operations Room (Naval Operation Center - NOC) to solve a breakdown and ensure the possibility of the NOC to retransmit, within the V-RMTC system (Virtual Regional Maritime Traffic Center), the data of merchant traffic in the Gulf of Aqaba. At the end of the intervention, which was followed by a brief indoctrination to the personnel, the Jordanian station resumed functioning and carrying out its normal activity of monitoring merchant traffic.

During the break, the ship crew Grecale has also engaged in a gesture of solidarity with the civilian population, visiting the center for the disabled "Our Lady of Peace", run by the Latin Patriarchate, to which funds were donated on board profits to support the activities of the center.

The center is an example of cooperation between the various cultures and realities that characterize Jordan and provides care and educational services to disabled children, as well as providing counseling services to families, Christians and Muslims, from all over Jordan and even from neighboring Syria. from Israel.

The visit ended with a reception on board the Grecale ship, organized thanks to the support of the Italian embassy in Jordan. At the event, attended by the military attorney in Jordan, Brigadier General Roberto De Masi, was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Jordanian Navy, the governor of the region of Aqaba and the highest local civil, religious and military authorities. The meeting consolidated the relationships of mutual respect, consideration and cooperation between the two countries, feelings also shown by the local population to the entire crew during the hours of free exit.

The unit and its crew then resumed the sea to head for the Suez Canal, leading back to the Mediterranean Sea.