On 11 August EU Naval Force ship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën completed an escort of a World Food Program (WFP) vessel along the coast of Somalia.
Escorting WFP vessels is one of the primary tasks of Operation Atalanta.
The WFP chartered merchant vessel left the port of Berbera on Saturday, 9 August for the port of Bosaso. Both cities are situated in Somalia and are used as distribution bases in order to deliver food to the people in the region.
As soon as the WFP ship left Berbera, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën took over the security of the WFP-contracted ship. After a 2-day escort, the ship arrived in Bosaso where security was handed over to the local authorities. The captain of the merchant vessel expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the assistance given by EU Naval Forces to help keeping World Food Program ships safe.
Altogether the EU Naval Force has protected World Food Program ships carrying over 900,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid since 2008. The cargo of this shipment consisted mainly of grain, oil and corn soya blend, which is designed to provide protein supplements and is generally used in WFP Supplementary Feeding and Mother and Child Health programs.