ADF STAFF
For the first time, the Kenya Navy and Kenya Coast Guard Service joined in the European Union’s Operation Atalanta multiagency exercise, Usalama Baharini.
The main objective of the May 2024 joint exercise — whose Swahili name translates to “Safety at sea” — was to improve maritime security, cooperation and dialogue on regional peace and security issues. Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force Somalia, is an ongoing counterpiracy military operation off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean. It is the first naval operation conducted by the EU in support of 2008 U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Seminars included lectures on the legal aspects of operations at sea and maritime interdiction operations. The practical component, with Atalanta flagship ITS Martinengo taking center stage, saw Usalama Baharini participants apply training, knowledge and experience in simulated scenarios, defenceWeb reported. The ship posed as a pirate vessel used to transfer equipment, materials, and personnel suspected of involvement in arms and drug trafficking.
Simulations involving helicopters, high-speed boats and drones let participants apply protocols and best practices to real-life scenarios. Special attention was given to prosecuting pirates, given the ongoing maritime security challenges in the Red Sea and resurgence of regional piracy.
“Kenya and the EU have a common border — the sea — and the security and stability of the sea is the security and stability of our societies,” Italian Vice Adm. Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, Atalanta operations commander, said of the exercise, as reported by defenceWeb. “We must open our eyes to the sea.”