French Navy press release
Four French units are participating in this large-scale exercise: the French ship Germinal and the French Landing Helicopter Dock Tonnerre deployed in the area as part of operation Corymbe, a maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique 2, and maritime surveillance aircraft Falcon 50.
This exercise benefits from the support of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission, the Fisheries Committee of The Center West, the United Nations with ONUDC, and also the European programmes GoGIN, PESCAO, and WeCaps.
Since 2018, Grand African NEMO has become the most important annual maritime security event in the Gulf of Guinea. This fourth edition aims to share know-how and improve the operational level of participants in the fight against illegal fishing, piracy, maritime pollution illegal trafficking and rescue at sea.
About forty units at sea and five aircraft mobilized to take part in the various exercises designed on the basis of the main security stakes faced by the nations in the region.
Through the co-steering of this ambitious exercise, France and its African partners are making a decisive contribution to improving maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Following Grand African NEMO 2022, the chiefs of staff of the navies bordering the Gulf of Guinea will meet in Paris, on the 20th of October, for a symposium during which three topics will be tackled: training and operational training, sharing of maritime information and environmental safety.
The Gulf of Guinea
Covering 5,707 kilometres of West African coastline from Senegal to Angola, the Gulf of Guinea is a key maritime region. Located at the crossroads of major shipping routes, the region is home to important natural resources, including oil, fish and minerals, which are ripe for greed and illicit activities.
African NEMO exercies
Since the Yaounde summit in 2013, the French Navy has organised three to four times a year the joint patrols African NEMO and a major annual exercise Grand African NEMO, which brings together a larger number of units and operational centres.
