Denmark deploys a vessel contribution in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to a press release published by Danish Ministry of Defence on March 16, 2021, in the fall of 2021 Denmark will deploy a frigate to the Gulf of Guinea off the western coast of Africa where it is going to contribute to the international operation against the pirates.
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HDMS Iver Huitfeldt F361 during a port visit in Århus (Picture source: Wikipedia)

The Danish Government is seriously concerned about the security situation in the Gulf of Guinea where around 40 percent of all pirate attacks reported worldly takes place. In 2020 alone around 140 seamen were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea.

The task of the frigate will be to combat the pirates and support and escort the civil shipping in the area. The vessel contribution will be deployed under Danish command in international waters and the attempt will be made to coordinate the tasks of the vessel contribution with these contributions of our allies and partners in the region. To begin with, the contribution is deployed in the region for a period of 5 months from approximately November 2021 to March 2022 inclusive.

The frigate is equipped with a SEAHAWK helicopter and it will be able to deploy special operation forces from the frigate’s naval task force, if necessary. The task force is among other things trained for carrying out rescue operations on hijacked ships.

Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate are a part of the Royal Danish Navy which entered service in 2012 and 2013.

The Iver Huitfeldt-class displaces at 6,500 tons full load and is propelled by four MTU 20V 8000 M70 diesel engines in Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) configuration, allowing a maximum speed of 28 knots, and a maximum range of 9,300 nautical miles at 18 knots.

The frigates are equipped with four Mk. 41 8-cell VLS, two Mk. 56 12-cell VLS, up to 16 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, 2 OTO Melara 76mm guns, a 35mm Oerlikon Millenium naval gun, and two triple lightweight torpedo launchers.

It also has a hangar and helicopter deck for medium-sized military helicopters.