From 4 to 13 July , the EU Naval Force – Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) provided protection to a ship chartered for AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) supplies. The German frigate Bremen and the French frigate Guépratte took turns to carry out this mission, from the south Red Sea to Mogadishu.
The EU NAVFOR warship FGS Bremen took over the MV Gigante, a cargo vessel carrying equipments and supplies for AMISOM, in the southern Red Sea on 4 July. After crossing the Strait of Bab el Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden, it was the turn of FS Guépratte, on 8 July, to take over off the Horn of Africa. The MV Gigante arrived safely in Mogadishu on July 13, after skirting the coast of Somalia to avoid the effects of the monsoon which currently prevails in the Indian Ocean. In Mogadishu, the protection task was officially transferred to an AMISOM security team by Guepratte.
Chartered by the UNSOA (United Nations Support Office for AMISOM), Gigante was transporting equipment to the African Union peacekeeping force based in Mogadishu.
As with the World Food Programme vessels, protecting logistics for AMISOM is part of the mandated tasks of the EU Naval Force – Operation Atalanta and is part of the Comprehensive Approach of the European Union in the fight against piracy. The aim of AMISOM is to support the Transitional Federal Government to foster stability in Somalia and the establishment of sustainable institutions, which are indeed the key factors in eliminating the scourge of piracy.
Since the operation began in December 2008, 127 ships carrying equipment for AMISOM were protected by force Atalanta.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, July 20, 2012; Image: EU NAVFOR