This week the European Union is marking eight years since it launched its first ever maritime military operation, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, in response to a surge in armed pirate attacks on merchant ships and other vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Back in 2008, increasingl
French Navy aviso FS Commandant l’Herminier bid farewell to EUNAVFOR’s Mediterranean Sea operation Sophia last weekend. The ship contributed to the prevention of arms and migrant smuggling since she joined the mission on November 12. During her time with the operation, Commandant l’Herminier was inv
Sailors and ships deployed to EUNAVFOR’s counter piracy operation off the Horn of Africa have bid farewell to the Dutch frigate and operation Atalanta flagship, HNLMS Tromp, as she concluded her deployment and headed for the Dutch port of Den Helder. The De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate started her
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel BAM Relampago took members of the Somaliland Coast Guard on board for maritime training off the coast of Somaliland on September 3. The training consisted of radar and search and rescue (SAR) drills including helicopter evolutions. UN Office on Drugs and Crime (
The Royal Netherlands Navy frigate and current flagship of the EU mission off the Horn of Africa, became the first operation Atalanta warship to dock in either Somalia or Somaliland as the ship came alongside Berbera Port on Sunday, December 4. Onboard were EUCAP Nestor’s head of operations, Chris R
Bahrain was the stage for the 39th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference which was held November 30. The conference was a forum to discuss counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean and the importance of cooperation between naval units in the region, industry and othe
The European Council extended operation Atalanta’s mandate to deter, disrupt and repress acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia until 31 December 2018. Operation Atalanta’s two-year mandate extension comes amidst concerns within European Union member states that whilst pirate attacks on merchant sh
The Albanian Navy joined it’s first-ever NATO maritime mission by deploying its patrol boat ALS Oriku to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 on Monday. The vessel will support NATO activities in the Aegean Sea as part of the international efforts to stop illegal trafficking and migration. ALS Oriku is an
A detachment of 20 Royal Danish Air Force officers and enlisted service members took flight in their aircraft from the Seychelles one last time on November 19 marking the end of their deployment. The Royal Danish Air Force Challenger CL-604 was deployed to NATO standing Operation Ocean Shield. The D
DCNS, French defense contractor that will be building Australia’s future submarines, has signed a letter of intent with the Australian Indigenous Defence Consortium (IDC) to explore opportunities to include Indigenous Australians and Indigenous businesses within DCNS’s supply chain. The partnership
Two Russian Navy destroyers in charge of protecting the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov on its deployment to the Mediterranean have detected and chased away a Dutch Navy submarine which attempted to spy on the group, Russian Ministry of Defence said. According to several media reports, including
German Navy’s Elbe-class replenishment ship Werra is set to return to its homeport in the Kiel Navy base after spending five months underway supporting EU’s maritime operations. Werra departed port in June to join EUNAVFOR’s operation Sophia to help tackle people smugglers, deaths of migrants at sea
Operation Atalanta’s force commander, Commodore Luyckx, who is currently embarked in the EU naval force flagship, HNLMS Tromp, took an opportunity to visit Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel ESPS Relampago as it was conducting her counter-piracy patrols off Somalia. After being welcomed on board
The EU naval force in charge of safeguarding shipping off the Horn of Africa has increased its patrols after Somali pirates attacked chemical tanker CPO Korea off the east coast of Somalia on October 22. During the attack a number of shots were exchanged between the six armed pirates, who were in a
