Republic of Korea Navy destroyer Choi Young officially joined operation Atalanta welcoming aboard the operation’s Force Commander, Rear Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado Muñoz-Rojas during a joint counter-piracy patrol off the coast of Somalia.
The Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer joined EU NAVFOR warships in the fight to prevent acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The contribution of a Korean warship to operation Atalanta has been made possible by the EU-Republic of Korea Framework Agreement, which has been in force since December 2016 and foresees the possible participation of Korea in EU crisis management operations.
Choi Young’s command team will co-ordinate day-to-day counter-piracy operations with EU NAVFOR staff on board operation Atalanta’s flagship, ESPS Galicia.
After being welcomed on the flight deck, Rear Admiral Fernández-Pintado was given an operational briefing about the Republic of Korea Navy warship and was later introduced to members of the ship’s crew.
ESPS Galicia and ROKS Choi Young’s navigators also carried out ship manoeuvres during the meeting at sea.