Canadian maritime tactical group among those headed to West Africa

Canadian maritime tactical group, operations centre mentor team among those headed to West Africa

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Published on: January 28, 2018

HMCS Kingston and HMCS Summerside, both Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels, left Halifax on Friday for West Africa. Their deployment will include engagements with West African nations to build partner capacity, promote maritime security, and foster relationships in the Gulf of Guinea region, according to the Royal Canadian Navy.

More details from the RCN:

While deployed, HMCS Kingston and Summerside, a detachment of personnel from the Maritime Tactical Operations Group (MTOG), and a Maritime Operations Center mentorship team will also participate in Obangame Express 2018 (OE18). Led by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, OE18 is designed to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. The MTOG will work with regional partners to build partner capacity for maritime interdiction operations.

The MTOG includes specially trained teams prepared to confront a variety of threats in high-risk maritime environments. They deploy onboard Halifax-class frigates and Kingston-class maritime coastal defence vessels and can also deploy ashore on operations. Teams are prepared for inspections and searches for illegal cargo but are also trained in hand-to-hand combat, improvised explosive device identification, close quarters fighting, and tactical shooting.

Port visits by HMCS Kingston and Summerside during this West Africa deployment aim to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. They are scheduled to include:

• Praia, Cape Verde
  

• Dakar, Senegal
  

• Monrovia, Liberia
  

• Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
  

• Lagos, Nigeria
  

• Accra, Ghana
  

• Obangame Express 2018 will take place in the Gulf of Guinea and involves numerous African partner nations and additional forces including Angola, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Togo, Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-maritime-tactical-group-operations-centre-mentor-team-among-those-headed-to-west-africa

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