The anti-piracy operation called Gabinia is underway, which will see the frigate Luigi Rizzo engaged in the Gulf of Guinea in the coming months, under the command of the frigate captain Andrea Cecchini.
The naval unit, which departed from the port of Civitavecchia on February 24 and after a stopover in the port of Dakar (Senegal), will be engaged in one of the stretches of sea in the world most at risk for piracy attacks, but at the same time of extreme importance for our country, and will have as its objective maritime surveillance to protect national interests and the safety of maritime routes, but also cooperation with the navies of the coastal countries to increase mutual knowledge and trust and to contribute to the improvement of security conditions in the region.
“On the Rizzo ship, leaving for a long mission, there are ideally three Ministries: that of Defense, that of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and that of Economic Development; this is a sign of cohesion of the Country System towards maritimeism. Ideally the national maritime cluster today is here together and the Defense, which of the national maritime cluster is a fundamental rib, is the one that allows the greeting ceremony in Civitavecchia, attended by the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Enrico Credendino, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Team, Admiral Aurelio De Carolis. to all the actors to operate in complete safety on the sea and from the sea” these are the words of Admiral Credendino, who then continued “the Navy is at the service of the community: what happens in the Gulf of Guinea has a direct impact on our country, on our industry and on our maritime trade”.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Squadron during his speech declared “Nave Rizzo leaves for the 3rd time towards the Gulf of Guinea, where it will carry out a complex and articulated maritime security mission, to guarantee the roles of police on the high seas, naval diplomacy and security cooperation”, continuing “2022 also marks the consolidation of a greater level of presence and regularity in the action of the Navy in the Gulf of Guinea, reaching 8 months a year. The presence of Navy ships in the Gulf of Guinea and in all areas of the enlarged Mediterranean demonstrates an increasingly inter-institutional, multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach to maritime security and the activities of the Armed Forces outside national borders”.
The activity of the Italian naval unit is also an opportunity to carry out the collaboration projects between the Navy and the Francesca Rava NPH Italia Onlus Foundation, through the embarkation on board of medical equipment intended for African hospitals identified in collaboration with the Italian diplomatic authorities on the spot: a “mission within a mission”, with significant social and humanitarian value. Nave Rizzo will patrol the waters of the Gulf of Guinea until next June.