At an event organized this Thursday by the Brazilian embassy in Angola, the ship's commander, frigate captain Leonardo Gomes, said that the 'Obangame Express 2022' exercise aims to train techniques to combat maritime insecurity in the seas. from West Africa, from Central Africa, with the participation of European countries, with Brazil, as the representative of South America, and coordinated by the North American Navy.
'Obangame Express 2022' is an initiative of the United Nations Security Council, created with two 2012 resolutions, which proposed a concerted effort to combat regional and global threats to maritime security.
According to the captain of the ocean patrol ship "Amazonas", 32 countries participate in this 2022 edition.
"The ship will be here until Friday and, from the 12th and 17th of March, it will effectively participate in the maritime-regional architecture in the Alfa zone of the participation of the 'Obangame Express 2022'", informed the captain, stressing that the ship docked in the port of Luanda on Tuesday "for the cultural and historical ties between Brazil and Angola".
"And this is the fourth time that the ship has come to Angola for this logistical preparation for the start of the commission itself", he underlined.
Asked to comment on the current situation of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region, Leonardo Gomes mentioned that the most recent report by the International Maritime Bureau, a specialized division of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), for 2021, reported a decrease in cases, but acts of maritime terrorist threat still constitute 25 percent worldwide.
In addition to piracy, highlighted the commander, illegal fishing, environmental issues and maritime safety remain major challenges.
"The challenges have been the search for cooperation, a solution to effectively combat these maritime security challenges in the world", highlighted Leonardo Gomes.
The ocean patrol ship "Amazonas", with the possibility of boarding 120 people, has a maximum speed of 25 knots and autonomy for staying at sea for up to 35 days.
Leonardo Gomes said that Brazil's participation in the 'Obangame Express 2022' will have the collaboration of the navies of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia.
For five days, the forces will carry out simulated exercises to combat sea pollution, maritime terrorism, piracy and assistance to ships with some type of need for logistical support.
In his speech, the Brazilian ambassador to Angola, Rafael Vidal, highlighted the impacts of economic growth on the African continent since the 2000s, and the high pace of growth of African economies has generated, as a counterpart, the increase in crime, piracy, especially the kidnappings and attacks against the merchant navy.
Rafael Vidal said that the countries participating in the 'Obangame Express' are committed to the system at the United Nations, with the concepts of peace and collective security.
"The Brazilian navy participates in an area of action that involves Angola, this is linked to Brazil's cooperation with Angola, proximity, strategic partnership with the two countries, the 500 years of common history of this intense relationship in all domains that we have," he said.
In turn, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Angola, Esmeralda Mendonça, highlighted that the country has carried out several activities in order to create synergies to combat piracy.
Esmeralda Mendonça highlighted that Angola has already held conferences on maritime security, is part of the Gulf of Guinea Commission and has presided over the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (Zopacas).
"Let's work together, cooperate even more. May the co-signatories at the bilateral level join synergies in the sense of making a single voice to see if we mitigate this evil that invades our seas day after day", said the minister, pointing out the damage to the illegal fishing that affects the Angolan economy daily.
