Atlantic Ocean. (January 29, 2023): In this photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikaela McGee, U.S. Coast Guardsmen and a member of the Nigerian Navy conduct law enforcement training aboard USCGC Spencer in the Atlantic Ocean. These training sessions are part of the annual Obangame Express 2023, a multi-national maritime exercise conducted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa to improve cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea and the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
The U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, plays host to multiple navies conducting the full spectrum of joint naval operations to advance U.S. national interests and security in Europe and Africa.
Obangame Express 2023, staged in Lagos, Nigeria, includes both in-port and at-sea exercises with the Nigerian Navy and 32 other nations to improve coordination among forces. The participating nations exchanged knowledge on search and rescue operations, boarding suspect vessels, and emergency medical techniques. The goal for Obangame Express 2023 is to ensure interoperability between forces which is vital to success in combat or an emergency.
The exercise centers on the Gulf of Guinea, a vast and diverse region stretching from Senegal to Angola with approximately 3,700 miles of coastline. It is an important shipping zone transporting oil and gas, as well as goods to and from central and southern Africa.
For more than 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa has forged strategic relationships with these allies and partners to police this important waterway.
The Nigerian Navy is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of 25,000 personnel as of 2021. For the Nigerians, coastal patrolling to enforce maritime law and to protect the vital shipping lanes for its oil and gas industry is the life blood of their economy. Besides protecting maritime traffic, Nigeria is also an important U.S. security partner in Africa in the war against terrorist organizations within its borders, including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa.
(P.S. The Spencer participated in the search and rescue of a pararescue man off the coast of Massachusetts in 1999, an event later turned into the box office hit “The Perfect Storm” starring George Clooney).