In the middle of a harbor, moored to a small buoy, sits a small gray 30-meter long ship. To the uninformed observer it appears to be just another ship possibly waiting to aid a vessel entering the harbor. However, a closer look reveals the ship is the RC Trozona -- a patrol vessel of the Madagascar Navy, in the Seychelles to participate in exercise Cutlass Express 2016.

Cutlass Express is a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored multinational maritime exercise designed to increase maritime safety and security in the waters off East Africa, western Indian Ocean, and in the Gulf of Aden.

"Our ship did start out as a tugboat," said Lt. Cmdr. Alex Ralaiarivony, commanding officer of Trozona. "It was built in a Madagascar shipyard in 1980 and was re-purposed as a patrol vessel to complete the missions of the Malagasy Navy in 1997."

The 30-meter long, 8-meter wide patrol vessel is one of eight vessels the Malagasy Navy uses to complete its mission of patrolling their territorial waters, conducting maritime law enforcement, rescue operations, as well as combating piracy and smuggling.

Trozona, guided by its crew of five officers, nine petty officers and 16 seaman, steamed 612 miles to participate in Cutlass Express. They did it with a single 16 cylinder, 1,000 horsepower engine, propelled by a single prop and few spare parts.

"Preparation began over a year ago when my ship and crew found out we were going to become part of the exercise," said Ralaiarivony. "We spent an entire year making sure all of our machinery and all technical problems were solved before we left so we were able to make the journey. It was a very long process to make sure that this would be able to happen but we have an incredibly professional crew and our ship, while small, is incredibly tough and strong."

The journey went pretty well for the crew; making the 612-mile transit in three days, ten hours, with only one problem.

"Part of the way through, one of the seals on our water pump broke, leading to some water coming into the engine room," said Ralaiarivony. "But, the good thing about this crew is how incredibly professional that they are. My crew was able to fix the problem in seven hours and we had no other setbacks on the way."

The news of Madagascar's involvement in Cutlass Express was something the Malagasy Navy and Army had been waiting a long time for, and one that the crew hopes will continue.

"We hope that by getting us involved, we can continue to become more and more involved year after year because it's a truly great way for all of the nations in this area of the world to really come together and help each other out," said Ralaiarivony.

U.S. Capt. Scott Ruston, the exercise director for Cutlass Express 2016 said, "We are really pleased to have the Malagasy Navy participating in Cutlass Express this year. Along with the patrol vessel Trozona and its associated boarding team, a Malagasy Navy captain is serving as the leader of the command element directing the vessels at sea. This level of participation is a significant step forward towards U.S. Naval Forces Africa objectives of increasing interoperability among regional partners within the maritime domain."

The Malagasy Navy's participation in Cutlass Express 2016 comes as they are seeing a rise in the illegal smuggling of rosewood from Madagascar. Vast areas of rosewood have been smuggled to the West and China since 2009 according to Ralaiarivony.

"Rosewood can now be smuggled and sold for over 45 Euro for one kilo of wood," said Ralaiarivony. "The island of Madagascar is all coasts and we only have eight vessels to patrol. It has been a real challenge to keep up with the smuggling along with all of our other tasks."

The Trozona's mooring in Port Victoria marks the first time a Malagasy vessel has been in the Seychelles since 1978. The ship's Executive Officer Lt. j.g. Ramanantsoa Aro, said the crew couldn't be happier to be a part of Cutlass Express and this historic event.

"For the first time in almost 40 years we are again in Seychelles and we are training and learning and our morale is incredibly high," said Aro. "This is a great exercise, and every member of this crew and our boarding teams are enthusiastic to be part of this."

Ralaiarivony said he hopes they can keep coming back every year for Cutlass Express for years to come.

"Our minister of defense was looking at this exercise very tightly," said Ralaiarivony. "The area in which we all live is just too large for one nation to take care of and we all need to come together to keep us safe and combat smuggling, piracy, and everything else that causes issues for all of us."

Ruston added, "Madagascar's participation this year demonstrates the will and capability of our partner nations -- the Trozona sailed over 600 miles to conduct maritime operations side by side with Seychelles and Mauritius forces. Participation in exercises like Cutlass Express provide the venue for practicing cooperative procedures and information sharing, and they are key to the interoperability amongst maritime nations in the region to ensure safety and security of the seas."

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/.