African Starring Role For Royal Navy In Exercise

Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Lyme Bay have been helping African navies enhance their security skills during Grand African Nemo, one of West Africa’s biggest naval exercises.

Sailors from the U.K.’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship and embarked Royal Marines played the role of smugglers out to make things as difficult for their African counterparts charged with boarding and searching the 16,000-tonne support vessel.

Countering piracy and improving maritime security was one of the main areas of focus for this year's Grand African Nemo, a long-running exercise staged in the Gulf of Guinea each autumn by France and West/Central African nations. They have signed up to the Yaoundé Maritime Security Architecture seeking to ensure shipping can safely navigate waters that stretch about 4,000 miles between Senegal and Angola.
 
During the exercises RFA Lyme Bay joined French assault ship FS Dixmude, Italian Corvette ITS Borsini, and patrol ships from Spain (SPS Bam Meteoro), Portugal (NRP Viana do Castelo), Morocco (RMN Bir Anzarane) and Mauritania (MN Timbedra) plus a host of Nigerian patrol vessels.
 
Ahead of live exercise at sea, Lyme Bay spent three days in Lagos, Nigeria, for a host of engagement activities. Then the men of 42 Commando and their Nigerian Navy counterparts of the Nigerian Special Boat Squadron honed close-quarters battle techniques aboard Lyme Bay to search and secure a potentially hostile vessel and sped around the waterways of Lagos with the marines of 47 Commando (Raiding Team) at the helm of Commando Raiding Craft, developing core amphibious and surface assault skills.
 
At sea, Nigerian Navy patrol vessels NNS Aba and NNS Chalawa closed on two ‘suspect merchant vessels’ — one played by Lyme Bay — whilst Augusta 109 helicopters of the Nigerian Navy conducted patrol and shadow duties of the area. Boarding operations were then carried out by the Nigerian Navy SBS.

Lieutenant Sam Alberici RM, Officer Commanding 42 Commando Royal Marines Boarding Team 8, commented: "We have achieved some really valuable training opportunities with the Special Boat Squadrons of both the Ghana Armed Forces and Nigerian Navy focusing on maritime security and interdiction skills.

“Working together to share experiences, understand our common ground, hone our skillsets and fine-tune our standard operating procedures, we have built professional relationships and proven our ability to work side-by-side in combined assault teams whilst building close friendships through camaraderie and an understanding of having the same mission goals, effects and outcomes.”

Lyme Bay Commanding Officer Captain Chris Ovens described participation in Grand African Nemo as one of highlights of the ship’s 14-month-long deployment.

• You can read more details on the Royal Navy website