Conferencia: diplomacia de defensa: despliegues de la Armada Española en África

The Canary Islands Naval Command has organised this conference in Casa África on naval deployments in Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, and Operation ATALANTA in Somalia.

It will be on Monday, 12 December 2016 at 10am, during the stopover of the patrol boat “Serviola” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on its return from deployment in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Spanish Navy performs two biannual deployments in Africa, one in the Gulf of Guinea and the other in Operation ATALANTA off Somalia. For these, a ship is assigned to each area for a six month period.

Different types of unit have participated in the Operation ATALANTA deployment, with the Maritime Action Ships based in Las Palmas being the Navy ships most often deployed in this area. Currently the “Relámpago” is in Somali waters on a deployment that will last for almost 6 months. Operation ATALANTA is part of the fight against piracy and thanks to this deployment there have been no hijackings of ships or crews since 2012. Lieutenant Commander Salvador Moreno Regil, Commander of the patrol boat “Tornado”, will speak to us about the deployment this unit made in the waters of Somalia.

The deployments in the Gulf of Guinea are also made every six months, and collaborate in the formation and training of the navies of the countries of the area as well as maritime surveillance and protection of national interests. Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Pita da Veiga has just returned from his deployment in the Gulf of Guinea in command of the patrol boat “Serviola” and he will tell us the details of this deployment which is nearing completion.

The conference programme will be divided into the following sections:

• Opening by the Director General of Casa África, Luis Padrón and Admiral Commander of the Spanish Navy, Juan L. Sobrino Pérez-Crespo
• First presentation by Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Pita da Veiga, who will talk to us about the deployment of the patrol boat “Serviola” in the Gulf of Guinea
• Second presentation by Lieutenant Commander Salvador Moreno Regil who will talk about the area of ​​Somalia, having participated in Operation ATALANTA.
• Question Time

Attendance at the conference is free, but due to limited capacity prior registration is required by sending an email to cisasi@casafrica.es