Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand today joined the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) – Operation ATALANTA, combating piracy off Somalia. In doing so she becomes the first Romanian warship to take part in the EU’s counter-piracy operation.
Commissioned into the Romanian Navy in 2004, the 146 metres long warship has a displacement of 4166 tonnes, a crew of 203 and has a Puma helicopter embarked.
The Romanian vessel joins a fleet of EU NAVFOR warships tasked with the deterrence and disruption of piracy in the Somali Basin and Horn of Africa and the protection of World Food Programme (WFP) vessels and vulnerable shipping.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff,October 2, 2012; Image: EU Navfor