CORYMBE: The High Sea Patrol Vessel “Commandant Ducuing” in Beninese waters

Photo : Embassy of France in Benin

On Monday 16 January 2023, at the invitation of the Commander of the High Sea Patrol Vessel (Patrouilleur de Haute Mer “PHM”) “Commandant Ducuing” and the head of the project to support the action of the State at sea, the Maritime Prefect of Benin and the Chief of Staff of the Beninese Navy, accompanied by twelve actors from the maritime world in Benin, administrations, civilians and military, joined the PHM Commandant Ducuing, which was sailing in Beninese waters off Cotonou as part of the CORYMBE mission, to discuss maritime safety and to attend demonstration exercises by the French and Beninese navies.

During these joint activities, the guests were able to discover, some for the first time, the know-how of both navies and in particular the activity at sea of the new Beninese patrol boat “Pendjari”.

This cooperation action with Benin allowed to increase mutual know-how and to reinforce the capacity to act more efficiently in the fight against maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.

As a reminder, CORYMBE is a quasi-permanent operation of the French armed forces in the Gulf of Guinea. Since 1990, the operation has been armed by one or two French Navy vessels, punctually reinforced by land and air-mobile means, under the operational control of the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic maritime zone.