On Thursday 28 August EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Andrea Doria, and Combined Maritime Force frigate, HMAS Toowoomba, met at sea in the Gulf of Aden. As both warships were in close proximity to each other, crewmembers from both warships took the opportunity to ‘cross-deck’ to the other to meet sai
EU Naval Force Warship FGS Berlin conducts three Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) activities during a recent port visit to the Seychelles in support of EUCAP Nestor. LMCB are conducted by the European Union to build the capacity of security forces of regional partners in the fight against p
Italian Navy’s destroyer Andrea Doria (D553) docked in the port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, where it was visited by the Ambassador of Italy to the United Arab Emirates, Giorgio Starace. Prior to the docking, the vessel spent a long period of time at sea during which it took part in a replen
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën is on her way home after a successful three months deployment to the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta, the counter-piracy mission of the European Union. Before joining Operation Atalanta, the ship conducted two-weeks of pre-deployment training on her way to the Suez Cana
HNLMS Van Speijk, the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) multipurpose frigate, arrived on the African east coast for her participation within the EU Naval Force. However, before entering the area of operations further preparation was necessary: additional specific training for the mission and the integ
On 15 and 16 August the Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), Rear Admiral Guido Rando, visited HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën and ESPS Navarra. The Dutch frigate is currently conducting the last patrol of her 4 months deployment in the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, whilst the Spanish
On Tuesday 12 August, whilst conducting counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the EU Naval Force flagship and Italian Navy destroyer, ITS Andrea Doria, gave assistance to a stricken yacht. The yacht’s two French crewmembers had put out a mayday signal after they suffered engine failure. The
On 11 of August 2014 the Combat Support Ship FGS Berlin received a visit from the Force Commander of the European Union Naval Force Somalia Rear Admiral Guido Rando. It was the first visit aboard an Operation Atalanta unit other than the flagship since he assumed command on 6 August in Djibouti. T
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
The new flagship of EU Naval Force ITS Andrea Doria conducted its first friendly approach in the Gulf of Aden. To help strengthen mutual understanding and trust between the EU Naval Force and local seafarers, as well as obtain first hand information about possible piracy incidents in the area, EU
NATO’s Counter-Piracy Mission, Operation Ocean Shield, has bid farewell to the Italian destroyer ITS MIMBELLI. The ITS MIMBELLI left Task Force 508 on Wednesday, 6 August 2014, after a job very well done as part of Operation Ocean Shield. The continuous, main effort of Task Force 508 is keeping co
Lithuania is now in command of Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE. German Navy Commander Gunther Brassel handed over command of SNMCMG1 to Lithuanian Navy Commander Giedrius Premeneckas during a brief ceremony on Thursday, 7 August, 2014. The ceremony was conducted by NATO Allied Mariti
On Wednesday 6 August 2014 Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen (German Navy) handed over Force Command of the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta to Rear Admiral Guido Rando (Italian Navy). Brigadier General Dick Swijgman, who recently assumed the role of Deputy Operation Commander of the EU Naval F
As part of her counter-piracy role within the EU Naval Force, Spanish frigate ESPS Navarra has completed an escort at sea of a World Food Programme (WFP) vessel along the coast of Somalia. The merchant vessel’s ports of call were Kismayo and Mogadishu, which are both in Somalia. Both cities are us
