On 17 and 18 July, the Djiboutian navy and the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) French frigate Guépratte, will participate in the joint surveillance operation “7 Brothers” in international waters near the Islands of Seven Brothers and the Bab El Mandeb strait.
With a new operational center and a network of semaphores, the Djiboutian navy will patrol for two days with the support of EU NAVFOR French frigate Guépratte, in an area where more than 20,000 merchant ships pass each year. The Djiboutian navy now has the tools necessary to increase their effectiveness in maritime surveillance in the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden, which is so important for international trade.
The 7 Brothers operation carried out jointly by Djiboutian navy and the French frigate Guépratte is one example of EU NAVFOR’s efforts to cooperate and train with regional maritime forces. Such cooperation regularly conducted by EU NAVFOR is complementing the EU’s Comprehensive Approach and the support to regional maritime capacity building in the Horn of Africa states.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, July 19, 2012; Image: EU NAVFOR