ITN Andrea Doria Returns to Suez Canal

Italian Navy’s launcher destroyer Andrea Doria has set sail from the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal for the second time after 2011 heading south.

From next August 6, the unit will act as Flag Ship for Task Force 465 under the command of Rear Admiral Guido Rando, Force Commander of the EU Antipiracy Operation Atalanta.

ITN Andrea Doria, commanded by Captain Gianfranco Annunziata, is heading towards Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and during the next six months will be engaged in Operation Atalanta to fight piracy and guarantee freedom of navigation and sea trades in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Most of the cargo ships sailing in the region either come from or are going to the Suez Canal, an artificial waterway opened on November 17, 1869, to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

The Canal, currently is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) long, 24 m (79 ft.) deep and 205 metres (673 ft.) wide. The passage takes between 11 and 16 hours, and 16,596 vessels traversed the canal in 2013.