The maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ visits Mozambique

The maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ left Maputo on May 25th after the first port-call as part of her Africa tour in support of the Defense Diplomacy Plan.

The ‘Rayo’ arrived at Mozambique on May 22nd and the Commanding Officer participated in several protocol activities and visits to local military and civilian authorities. The Spanish Ambassador in Mozambique also visited the ship.

During the morning of the 23rd a series of drills were carried out with members of the Mozambique Navy and the ‘Corpo de Fuzileiros’; namely fire-fighting and Maritime Interdiction exercises. That same day the Commanding Officer visited the Minister of Defense and a delegation of Mozambique Navy officers came to see the ship. A visit was also organized for children of the Spanish community in Maputo.

On the 24th a conference was organized to discuss the ship’s participation in operation ‘Atalanta’ against piracy in the Indian Ocean. The briefing was presided over by the Spanish Ambassador, and attended by the ship’s Commander and representatives from the Social Studies Center ‘Antonio de Braganca’ (CESAB), experts in piracy issues.

The same day a group of crew members went to the ‘Mans Marcedaries’ orphanage, a place also visited by Her Majesty the Queen of Spain in her last visit to this country. The Spanish servicemen were warmly welcomed by the children and donated medicines and food in support of the social work of the orphanage.