The Mohawk (WMEC 913) of the United States Coast Guard has arrived at the Nigerian Naval Dockyard in Lagos.
Mohawk commanders will meet with Nigerian Navy leadership at the Western Navy Command Headquarters in Apapa, and government and military officials will be given ship tours, according to a press release from the US department of States.
Mohawk will conduct two days of at-sea engagements with the Nigerian Navy to promote maritime security cooperation.
Consul General Will Stevens said the arrival buttresses America’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in its efforts to secure territorial waters and the greater Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
“Cooperation and the ability to operate together in the maritime domain are necessary to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to counter piracy, oil bunkering, illegal fishing, and other sea-based illicit activities”, Stevens noted.
Stevens, Mohawk’s Commanding Officer Andrew Pate and Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambai, Western Naval Commander, discussed the U.S. and Nigeria’s shared commitment to a safe GoG.
Nigeria, a participant in Obangame Express, the largest multinational maritime security exercise in West Africa, will host the next iteration in January of 2023.
The annual exercise encourages countries to work together to address transnational maritime challenges.
