Danish Navy - In the piracy hotspot

Denmark prepares for operation against pirates in the Gulf of Guinea

Between November 2021 and April 2022, the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark, will not only fly over merchant ships in the Bay of Guinea, but will also be flown by the frigate ESBERN SNARE. The ship, equipped with a Seahawk helicopter and a crew of around 175 including a special force, is to put the pirates of West Africa in their place. The ship will be part of an international task force set up in response to an IMO resolution from May 2021, which calls on states, the UN and the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea to take all necessary measures to combat piracy. It is not yet clear which European countries will join.
Since 2016, Denmark has periodically stationed counsellors with a military background at the embassies in Ghana and Nigeria to support these countries in building capacity to combat piracy. In recent years, there have also been joint exercises between West African naval units and Danish special forces, which took part in the Obangame Express exercise in 2021, for example, in which operational planning, naval tactics, ship boarding, evidence collection and first aid were practised.