After a visit of the ship and particularly the operational room and presentation of the sensors and weapons, the Djiboutian coast guard was briefed on the measures to be implemented when under pirate attack. This was also the opportunity to brief them on Best Management Practices and protective meas
The EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) French flag ship FS Marne visited Djibouti between Saturday 21 April and Friday 27 April. Whilst there the Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and his staff met with representatives and authorities of the maritime world and various stakeholders in t
April 28, late afternoon, after 24 dense hours and three consecutive replenishments at sea led by EU NAVFOR flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart from NATO – Operation Ocean Shield. This long sequence started at dusk on April 27 for the command and replenishme
Ten ships from 12 host nations kicked-off Saharan Express 2012, a multinational exercise in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS), at the pre-sail conference in Dakar April 23. The countries met to coordinate maritime operations prior to the exercise, which focuses on combating illicit activit
The Counter-Piracy force of the European Union (EU NAVFOR), typically comprising 4 – 7 Surface Combat Vessels patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa, was joined by the French navy frigate FS Guépratte today, 25 April 2012. The 125 meter long FS Guépratte with 3600 metric tonnes displacement
EU Naval Force flagship FS Marne and RFA Fort Victoria, flagship of the Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) – part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) rendezvoused off the Omani coast on 18 April. EU Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis welcomed his Thaï counterpart, Rear Admiral Tanin Likitawong, on
The manoeuvres were conducted smoothly demonstrating a high degree of interoperability between EU NAFVOR Units and Coalition Task Force 151. Within one hour the RAS was completed, during which F76 and F44 was loaded and the formation also completed a “corpen november”. A corpen november is a manoeuv
During the last week EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) Spanish and French frigates have ensured that much needed humanitarian aid has been delivered safely to the people of Somalia. From 5 to 11 April, Spanish frigate ESPS Infanta Elena and French warship FS Aconit took it in turns to escort World Food Progra
Dutch EU NAVFOR warship HNLMS VAN AMSTEL completed two escorts of World Food Programme (WFP) chartered merchant vessels Mary Ann Hudson and Golden Bridge, on a tour between 14 and 17 April from Berbera to Bosaso and back. Both escorts in this high risk area were carried out smoothly and without any
Having taken over as the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) flagship on 7 April 2012, French warship FS Marne has already been very busy out at sea ensuring that the Task Force remains fully prepared for counter-piracy operations off Somalia. In her first 3 days the ship has carried out a number of replenish
Pirate camps on the Somali coast may now also be tackled from Dutch ships. The Dutch Government approved the expansion of the Atalanta counterpiracy mission and informed the House of Representatives of the decision on 6 April. However, military personnel will not set foot on land for the purposes of
The Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2013 Initial Planning Conference (IPC) took place in Garmisch, Germany, March 28-30. The three-day conference provided a venue for participating partner nations from Africa, Australia, Europe and North America to meet and continue the dialogue for building future
In a ceremony held on Saturday (7 April) onboard Spanish warship ESPS Patino, and presided over by the EU Naval Force Deputy Commander – Rear admiral Rainer Endres (German Navy), the French warship FS Marne became the new flagship of the EU Naval Force, Somalia, under the force command of Rear Admir
Deployed since 15 March to take part in the fight against piracy, a Falcon 50M from the French Navy has left the operation and been relieved by a maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique 2. It will operate from Djibouti as is also the case since 26 March for the detection and air control aircraft Awacs E
