On Wednesday 30th August, during her port visit to Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Rayo conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training in support of the Djiboutian Coast Guard. The training began with a briefing on board ESPS Rayo for the Djiboutian Coast Guard personnel. This was
A Dutch Navy landing platform dock ship has embarked Swedish CB-90 fast assault craft for a deployment to the African counter-piracy operation Atalanta. HNLMS Rotterdam set sail from her homeport on Sunday heading for Somalia with two CB-90 boats and a Swedish boarding team. The boats were earlier t
Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Sea Jo Young has joined the European Union-led counter-piracy operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia. ROKS Dae Jo Young is a Sun-sin class destroyer and was launched in November 2003. Equipped with the latest military and surveillance technology, she is per
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) ‘Infanta Cristina’ got underway from Cartagena, Spain, on Wednesday to start a four-month deployment to Western Africa. Infanta Cristina will spend the next four months in and around the Gulf of Guinea working with regional countries as part of the Spanish D
Italian Navy Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori took over command of the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta from Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado during a ceremony in Djibouti on July 27. EU NAVFOR’s deputy operation commander, Rear-Admiral Alfonso Pérez de Nanclares (Spanish Navy), also
The European Union migrant-rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea has been extended and will now run until December 31, 2018. EU leaders reached the agreement on July 25 after Italy curbed its protest against how the migrant crisis was being handled by other member states. The extension was expecte
Belgian Navy frigate BNS Louise Marie concluded her deployment to the EU-led migrant crisis operation in the Mediterranean Sea setting sail home on July 23. The multi-purpose frigate left operation Sophia after the scheduled 34 days of duties, despite calls for the frigate’s earlier withdrawal due t
French Piriou Naval Services announced it has just completed an extensive refit of the Royal Moroccan Navy patrol vessel Rais Bargach. Rais Bargach is a 65m ocean-going patrol vessel built in 1995 by STX France. It is one of five vessels in the class. Piriou Naval Services, a repair and services bra
Italian Navy frigate ITS Espero is en route to her homeport after over two months of counter-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa as part of the EUNAVFOR operation Atalanta. During her 108-day deployment ITS Espero’s ship’s company helped deter and suppress pirate attacks which started again in 201
As part of her counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Italian warship, ITS Espero, has an Agusta-Bell AB 212 helicopter embarked. This highly capable helicopter provides the commanding officer with much-needed versatility, speed and range, as well as an intelligence-gathering c
One of EU NAVFOR’s key missions is to protect World Food Programme (WFP) vessels as they transit along the coastline of Somalia. It is essential that much-needed food and other humanitarian aid get safely delivered to the Somali people without any delay. EU NAVFOR has been protecting WFP vessels sin
The French-UK led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 seized nearly two tons of narcotics in the last two months during an operation called Southern Surge. The seizures included 1250 kg of heroin and 455 kg of hashish. Narcotics trafficking, particularly heroin, has long been associated with funding terro
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Vigía arrived at naval base Puntales, Cadiz, on June 16, returning from a three-and-a-half month mission to the Gulf of Guinea. Vigía set sail from Cadiz on February 28 to conduct a series of activities in Africa as part of the Spanish government’s Defense Diplo
After completing port calls in Madagascar and Australia, ships from the Chinese PLA Navy’s 25th Task Group arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 15. The ships are on a goodwill visit tour in Asia Pacific following their counter-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden. Composed of two Type 054A fri
