Exercise Crocodile Lift Hones Amphibious Skills in the Gulf of Guinea

ADF STAFF

Members of the Nigerian and French navies responded by air and sea to a pirate attack in the Gulf of Guinea in late November. They boarded a ship with their guns drawn and searched for criminals and hostages.

The simulated maritime security exercise was part of Crocodile Lift 2024, a three-day exercise that focused on countering piracy, sea robbery and crude oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea.

Less than two weeks before, both navies participated in the Grand African Navy Exercise for Maritime Operations (NEMO) 2024. Nigerian Navy Rear Adm. Shehu Gombe, the flag officer commanding, Naval Doctrine Command, said that while Grand African NEMO focused on visit, board, search and seizure operations, and legal resolutions, Crocodile Lift was designed to enhance amphibious warfare capacities.

“This aligns with our vision of fostering a safe and secure region for shared prosperity and development,” Gombe said in a defenceWeb report. “This platform offers an invaluable opportunity for participants — units, ships and formations — to achieve the objectives of Crocodile Lift 2024. The exercise also presents an opportunity for partners with a shared understanding of our security objectives to deploy African-led solutions to transborder threats and challenges to enhance regional security.”

During the exercise, Nigeria deployed two ships, two Special Boat Service detachments and two helicopters, while France deployed a Mistral class amphibious warfare vessel and a helicopter carrier. The equipment was used to develop the navies’ tactical and operational proficiency while launching coordinated assaults on criminal hideouts, delivering troops to areas of criminal activity, making arrests and withdrawing troops.

“The exercise provided an excellent platform for our personnel to hone their skills in amphibious operations, ensuring readiness for real-world scenarios,” Nigerian Navy Commodore OA Akinbami, the officer in tactical command, told Nigeria’s This Day newspaper.

The exercise also promoted professional exchanges, improved interoperability between the navies and laid the groundwork for future multinational collaborations.

French Consul-General Laurent Favier said the exercise was a testament to the enduring maritime partnership between Nigeria and France. Favier also noted France’s decade-long support for Nigeria in combating terrorism through intelligence sharing and capacity building.

“Our participation reflects France’s commitment to fostering security in the Gulf of Guinea, a region vital to global trade and economic stability,” Favier said in a report in This Day. “Crocodile Lift symbolizes our shared commitment to maritime security and reinforces the deep ties between our navies.”

West Africa has recently emerged as a piracy hot spot, although there were fewer attacks in 2024 than in 2023. The International Maritime Bureau reported 79 piracy and robbery incidents at sea in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 99 in the same period in 2023. Analysts say increased naval patrols in the area are responsible for the decline.

“We must continue to build on these gains to ensure our maritime domain remains secure, not just for Nigeria, but for the entire region,” Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Michael Gregory Oamen, said in the report by This Day.

Organizers viewed Crocodile Lift 2024 as a blueprint for future collaborative efforts in maritime security.

“The Nigerian Navy remains resolute in its mission to protect our maritime environment, ensuring a safe and secure space for legitimate economic activities,” Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, chief of the Naval staff of Nigeria, said in a This Day report. “Exercises like Crocodile Lift are critical to achieving this vision.”