HMS Trent, a vessel of the Royal Navy, arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday.
As part of its regional mission to assist allies and partners in suppressing illegal activities including piracy and illicit trafficking, Trent is making its second trip to Nigeria.
The British High Commission said in a statement that the visit will boost maritime security in the area and help offer capacity training.
According to the commission, the HMS Trent left Gibraltar with a Puma surveillance drone and an expert boarding team of UK Royal Marines, and its mission was to support West African allies by assisting them in building their capacity to combat maritime crimes and make sure they could effectively contribute to the stabilisation of wider West Africa.A portion of Trent’s mandate is to promote stability across the Gulf of Guinea by training partner navies to fight criminal actors, fostering relationships and knowledge exchange, while conducting patrols to boost security, as approximately £6 billion of UK trade passes through the area.
Read Also: FG grants $163m loan from AfDB for wheat production
“The Royal Navy has a long history of engagement within the region and an enduring partnership with the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” HMS Trent’s commanding officer, Commander Tim Langford, stated. My team is eager to collaborate with their counterparts in Nigeria and expand on the connections made during our visit to Lagos in 2021.
The deployment, according to Jonny Baxter, the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, showed how a genuinely global Britain is taking action on the international arena to address common security concerns.
Nigeria is a significant and valued defence partner for the UK in West Africa, according to Baxter. We are eager to collaborate with Nigeria to fight the numerous challenges that our two nations share and to enhance marine security in the Gulf of Guinea.
