On 15 March, the German Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD), deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, transferred the responsibility for the protection of the World Food Programme (WFP) ship MV Caroline Scan to an AVPD from Finland. The German AVPD returns
It has been a busy couple of days for EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez. The Spanish warship, which is conducting EU counter piracy patrols off the Somali coast, was once again able to provide much needed protection, this time to super tanker MV Smyrni, after the vessel was relea
On 04 March, during a port visit to Djibouti by the European Union Naval Force flagship, ESPS Méndez Núnez, her crew welcomed on board a group of ten members of the Djiboutian Coast Guard in order to conduct training exercises. The purpose of the visit was to conduct training for the Djiboutian Coas
Between 26 February and 5 March 2013, French warship FS Courbet, operating as part of EU Naval Force counter piracy mission Operation Atalanta, together with an embarked Estonian Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD), escorted a World Food Programme (WFP) ship that was carrying much-needed food and aid
On 24 February 2013, whilst on counter piracy patrols in the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR, Rear Admiral Pedro García de Paredes, met with the Commander of the NATO counter-piracy Operation Ocean Shield, Rear Admiral Antonio Natale. The meeting be
At the end of February the Luxembourg Maritime patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) Detachment returned to the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta counter piracy mission, having taken over MPRA duties from the Swedish Coast Guard MPRA unit operating from the Seychelles. During their pr
After navigating the Suez Canal and Bab-el-Mandeb strait, French frigate FS Courbet has joined EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The French frigate replaces the FS Surcouf, who has been operating within the EU counter-piracy operation since last December. On Monday 18 February
Commander Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 Commodore Muhammad Hisham has crossed decked from USS Farragut to HMAS Toowoomba to personally welcome the crew to the counter-piracy task force. The crossdecking was conducted to bolster the already-high level of cooperation between the nations involved in th
On 19 February, HNLMS De Ruyter, has stopped the activities of a group of suspected pirates approximately 120 nautical miles east of Eyl off the coast of Somalia. Nine suspected pirates were apprehended and taken on board of the De Ruyter. The Dutch frigate that is deployed with the European Union N
On 12 February 2013, during a port visit by the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez to Port Victoria in the Seychelles, the EUNAVFOR Force Commander, Rear Admiral Pedro García de Paredes, met the Chief of Defence of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force
The Swedish Coast Guard MPRA aircraft left the Seychelles on 15 February 2013 after a productive four month deployment to the Seychelles as part of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. The Swedish coastguard Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, joined the operation in October 2012 and lef
Belgian frigate BNS Louise-Marie is on her way home after completing three months of counter piracy patrols with the European Union’s counter piracy mission – EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) – Operation Atalanta. BNS Louise-Marie joined EU NAVFOR, which fights piracy off the coast of Somalia, on 23 Novem
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced plans to collaborate, along with Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena NYK and “K” Line with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support job creation and skill development projects in Somalia. The industry partners will provide funding of US$ 1 million to the UN
The last two weeks of January have been a busy period for ESPS Cantabria (CMDR J.L. Nieto) and her embarked RAN DET. Having successfully navigated the Suez Canal, Cantabria entered the Gulf of Aden (GoA) area of operations. Cantabria conducted Replenishment at Sea (RAS) activities in support of EUNA
