The maritime action ship ‘Rayo’ has concluded her participation in operation Atalanta against piracy in Indian Ocean waters. The ship was integrated into the EUNAVFOR (European Union Naval Force) for 85 days.
From May 20, the ship will head towards the African coast for a deployment with scheduled port-calls at Tanzania, Mozambique, the South-African Republic, Namibia, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal and Cape Verde.
During her deployment in Atalanta the ‘Rayo’ took part in shipping control tasks within the IRTC (International Recommended Transit Corridor) and also escorted World Food Program (WFP) ships. A landmark of her deployment was the assistance provided to the hijacked merchant ship ‘Royal Grace’ after her release.
Apart from her own crew the ship embarked a Marine Corps unit and a Support unit for the AB-212 helicopter.
The ‘Rayo’, commissioned on May 14th 2012, is the second maritime action ship to participate in operation Atalanta after her sister ship ‘Relámpago’.
Deployment in Africa until the end of July
After her participation in operation Atalanta, the patrol boat has started a deployment in different African nations starting in Maputo (Mozambique). The ‘Rayo’, one of the most modern warships in the Spanish Navy, will call at eleven African ports before returning to her home base in Las Palmas (Canary Islands) at the end of July.
This initiative, in collaboration with the Defense Policy Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is included in a set of activities as part of the Defense Diplomacy Plan intended to foster cooperation in West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
The ship will be more than five months out of base.
[mappress] Press Release, May 22, 2013; Image: Spanish Navy