Ship Antonio Marceglia returns to the port of La Spezia at the end of the Operation Gabinia.
After 60 days, with over 11800 nautical miles traveled, it ended for Nave Marceglia the deployment for the “Operation Gabinia”, aimed at guaranteeing surveillance and protection of national interests and developing cooperation activities with partner and allied Marine in the Gulf of Guinea.
The ship's crew Marceglia it has constantly guaranteed the functions of high seas police and prevention of the smuggling of migrants, also contributing to the contrast of the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUUF), cooperating with the Armada Española and the French Marine Nationale.
Various activities were carried out in the waters of Western Africa, including the French-led exercise of the Grand African NEMO 2022 (GANO 22) which offered different opportunities for Local Maritime Capacity Building in favor of Boarding Team of the navies of the Gulf of Guinea. On these occasions, the Navy personnel were able to transfer their own know-how while strengthening the institutional link with coastal countries such as Senegal, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Sao Tome and Principe.
The realization of the activities at sea, such as the aforementioned GANO 22 and the African NEMO 22-4, allowed Nave Marceglia to interact with various parts of the United Nations, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and carry out activities in support of the main European projects present in the area, such as SWAIMS (Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security), PESCAO (Program for Improved Regional Fisheries Governance in Western Africa) and WeCAPS (West and Central Africa Port Security).
In particular, the latter three are included in the broader Coordinated Maritime Presences project, which aims to promote the image of the European Union as a reliable partner and promoter of safety in the maritime sector, a fundamental sector in the current “Blue century”.
The Gulf of Guinea is an operational theater in which it has been possible to further consolidate the synergy with the ship belonging to the national armory. Of particular importance was the interaction with the container ship MSC Marta of Mediterranean Shipping Company SA. The exercise involved the simulation of a pirate attack following which Nave's prompt reaction was triggered Marceglia who intervened by releasing, by helicopter, the Team Opposed of the marine brigade Saint Mark in order to carry out the "reclamation" of the merchant.
The 180 men and women of Nave's crew Marceglia they returned home aware of having constantly guaranteed maritime safety in an area of important strategic and economic value for Italy such as the Gulf of Guinea, which falls, by right, within the broader concept of the "Enlarged Mediterranean".
