The 2024 edition of Exercise Grand African Nemo has been launched off West Africa, with more than two dozen nations participating.
The eight-day exercise was kicked off on 4 November with the aim of safeguarding Gulf of Guinea waters and demonstrating a united front to secure West Africa’s seas. It aims to strengthen cooperation among regional naval forces to counter the growing challenges of piracy and transnational maritime crimes. It includes participation from naval forces across multiple African countries alongside international partners, engaging in simulated scenarios focused on piracy, smuggling, and illegal fishing.
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Ghana’s Western Naval Command, Commodore Emmanuel Ayesu Kwafo, representing the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, said efforts like Grand African Nemo have led to a significant reduction in transnational crimes within the Gulf of Guinea and Zone F maritime zones.
Yakubu emphasized the necessity of multinational coordination, noting that transnational crimes require unified action. This year’s exercise aims to build upon past achievements, particularly in enhancing interoperability, information sharing, and trust among participating forces to ensure security across the Gulf of Guinea, the Ghana Navy said.
This year’s exercise will focus on strengthening coordination across five operational zones in the Gulf of Guinea while participating forces conduct exercises in national and zonal phases.
The Nigerian Navy is deploying five ships, helicopters, and specialised units, which will operate alongside ships from the United Kingdom and Spain. The lead Nigerian ship is the NNS Kada.
Nigerian Navy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, said the importance of the exercise cannot be overstated as it would tackle maritime challenges such as piracy, sea robbery, and crude oil theft.
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