From February 20 to 25, 2026, a High Seas Patrol Vessel (PHM) was in port at Port-Gentil in Gabon as part of the French Navy’s CORYMBE mission. This stopover confirmed the role of the Franco-Gabonese naval station in Port-Gentil, inaugurated in 2025 to strengthen regional maritime cooperation and support the development of the Gabonese Navy’s skills.
Inaugurated on September 12, 2025, the Port-Gentil naval station illustrates the renewal of the military partnership between France and Gabon capable of responding to the security challenges of the Gulf of Guinea. This new infrastructure is part of a dynamic of sustainable cooperation and makes it possible to deepen the maritime component of this partnership. The naval station’s mission is to regularly welcome French sailors and ships as part of joint training and training with their Gabonese counterparts.
The training actions provided to the Gabonese Navy in the fields of navigation and maintenance are aimed at strengthening coastal control capacities and the fight against illegal fishing.
During its stopover, the crew of the PHM conducted various partnership activities based on the structures of the naval station. The training courses focused on sea rescue, firefighting and water ingress management. Finally, expert assessments were carried out on the Gabonese navy’s boats to discuss operational maintenance.
Faced with the many security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, the States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (ECCAS) have come together since 2013 within the Yaoundé Architecture. This initiative, supported by France and the European Union, provides an institutional framework for better coordination of warnings between each country’s Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs) and the Combined Maritime Coordination Centers (CMMC).
In this context, PHM of the French Navy is deployed for several weeks, in conjunction with the local COMs and the Yaoundé Architecture. It conducts patrols to fight against trafficking and piracy, while in dialogue with the MICA Center (call and transfer center for piracy alerts for the Gulf of Guinea) based in Brest.