Crewmembers of the German Navy ship FGS Hessen, attached to EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta, boarded three Iranian flagged dhows in the Gulf of Aden last week. FGS Hessen detected the three dhows drifting in the waters and contacted them via radio to ask if they needed any assistance. Crewmember
EU Naval Force Ships ESPS Tornado, FS Siroco, and FGS Hessen met at sea with the US Navy ship USNS Joshua Humphreys for a joint replenishment at sea (RAS) on January 21st, 2014. Four ships with more than 600 crewmembers took part in the RAS, which was carried out successfully and quickly. EU Naval
The Ukrainian Navy’s Frigate Hetman Sahaydachnyi started the second patrolling through the Gulf of Aden within the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta on January 19th, 2014. The frigate recently finished the first patrolling of the area, which took place from January 5 to 15, after which it headed t
NATO’s Counter Piracy Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral (ESP N) Eugenio Diaz del Rio welcomed a delegation of the Yemeni Coast Guard, lead by the Head of Brigadier General Ahmed Saleh Al-Soubhi on board CTF-508 flagship ESPS ALVARO DE BAZAN on Tuesday, 21 January 2014. The topics of the meeting w
The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS TE MANA is ready to join NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield today, which will be the second time that a partner nation has contributed to NATO’s counter-piracy efforts after Ukraine. NATO welcomed the offer to contribute to the operation from the New Zealand Gov
The French Naval Ship FS Siroco in cooperation with Japanese assets released crewmembers from a pirated dhow on January 18th. The flagship arrested five suspected pirates believed of having attacked an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden a day earlier. The UK Maritime Trade Operation received a call fo
Commander of South Korean Expeditionary Task Group, Captain Sung-Mok Choi, paid a visit to Commander of Combined Task Force 508, Rear Admiral Eugenio Diaz del Rio, aboard the Spanish Naval Vessel, ESPS Alvaro De Bazan, in the Gulf of Aden on 11 January 2014. The South Korean Navy staff arrived onb
The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset dropped her anchor in Gibraltar on the way to beginning a deployment East of Suez. The deployment comes in the aftermath of HMS Somerset’s £21 million pound refit, which renewed her operational capability and restored her full readiness. Whilst in Gibral
Hetman Sahaydachnyi, the Ukrainian Navy frigate, finished the first patrolling as part of European Naval Force Operation Atalanta from 5 to15th of January. The primary goal of Hetman’s presence was to perform counter-piracy operations, secure civil ships carrying out tasks within the World Food Pr
The German Navy ship, FGS Hessen, which is currently part of European Naval Force Operation Atalanta, assisted a Yemeni dhow off the coast of Yemen. The dhow was drifting for five days due to some technical malfunctions. The Japanese Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) alerted FGS Hes
Italian Navy frigate named ITS Libeccio has completed a port visit to Dar Es Saalam in Tanzania as part of EU Naval Force mission. The ship’s crew conducted anti-piracy training with the Tanzanian Navy on Tuesday 24th December. As part of the visit, ITS Libeccio’s company visited a local orphanage l
The Ukrainian Navy ship, Hetman Sahaidachnyi, has returned to the port of Djibouti having completed its sixth patrolling and presence in the Ocean Shield operation. The ship ensured navigation security in the Gulf of Aden from October 12, 2013 through January 2, 2014. Hetman Sahaidachnyi spent 47 da
The flagship of NATO’s anti-piracy operation ‘Ocean Shield’, Spanish F-100 frigate Álvaro de Bazán, welcomed aboard the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. The Prime Minister was hosted by rear-admiral Eugenio Díaz del Río, commander of the operation, who briefed the PM on the activities carried
On 23 December, two EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) warships, FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado, conducted a Vertical Replenishment (VERTREP) which is a transfer of items from one ship to another by the use of a helicopter. The replenishment took place amid counter-piracy deployment of the warships to the Gulf