The F-100 frigate ‘Cristóbal Colón’ trains with an Omani corvette.

The frigate ‘Cristóbal Colón’, flagship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2) currently participating in operation ‘Ocean Shield’ fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean, has carried out a joint training exercise with the Royal Omani Navy corvette ‘Al Shamikh’.

They both took part in a PASSEX-type exercise intended to improve communication procedures, cooperate in emergency situations and enhance interoperability. These ‘opportunity exercises’ are usually carried out when a foreign warship transits through the territorial waters of another country.

The training consisted in a series of maneuvers and communication exercises using searchlights and a VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) drill.

In this exercise the corvette ‘Al Shamikh’ performed as a merchant ship and the VBSS squad from the ‘Cristóbal Colón’ challenged and boarded the Omani ship to verify its documents and cargo.