Germany Navy corvette FGS Erfurt, part of Operation Atalanta, provided specialist training to Somaliland Coast Guard students in coordination with EUCap Nestor under the Local Maritime Capacity Building efforts. EUCap Nestor is a civilian mission which is mandated to support the development of marit
Images: EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta warships met with their Chinese counterparts in the Indian Ocean to conduct joint training on February 27. Main focus of the training were air operations with the ships’ embarked helicopters. The Chinese ships, tanker CNS Taihu and frigate CNS Daquing, also conduc
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin has started patrols under Operation Manitou having replaced sister ship HMAS Melbourne. The crew of HMAS Darwin has benefited from mission-specific training in the Kingdom of Bahrain, prior to setting out on the ship’s first p
USNS Grapple, U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command ship, departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach on February 29 to begin its deployment to Africa in the 6th Fleet’s area of operations. With a crew of approximately 45 U.S. Navy divers and Civil Service mariners, Gr
Royal Marines have tested their skills and know-how by fast roping from a helicopter onto HMS St Albans flightdeck. Using St Albans’ Merlin helicopter, one by one members of the ship’s Royal Marines Boarding Team (RMBT) carried out one of their most dangerous training exercises – descending from a h
On Saturday February 20, 2016 Operation Atalanta ships visited the Tanzanian port city Dar es Salaam. While in port, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri, Op Atalanta Force Commander received the mission’s Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Jonas Wikström aboard the EU Naval Force flagship, ITS Carabiniere. Thi
Multiple ships from EUNAVFOR Med’s Operation Sophia joined forces for the rescue of 475 migrants off the Libyan coast, February 20 and 21. Four rubber boats, one spotted by the Italian helicopter EH101 on Saturday and one by the Spanish air force aircraft VIGMA D-4 on Sunday, were in distress in int
Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Atalaya (P-74) set sail from Ferrol, Spain for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in support of the Spanish Defense Diplomacy Plan. These deployments, organized by the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) and the Spanish Navy, are inte
Operation Atalanta flagship, ITS Carabiniere, and South Korean warship, ROKS Choi Young, met in the Indian Ocean on February 10, 2016. After being welcomed on board ROKS Choi Young, Operation Atalanta’s Force Commander, Rear Admiral Barbieri, was given a tour by the Task Group Commander, Captain An,
Operation Atalanta Force Commander, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri on February 10 welcomed Captain Khyber Zaman, the Commanding Officer of PNS Saif to ITS Carabiniere, the mission flagship. The Italian warship has been deployed with the European Union’s counter-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean si
Two Royal Omani Navy ships and one South African Navy frigate arrived at the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka on February 12. The Royal Navy of Oman ships Al Shamikh and Al Seeb are on their way home after participating in the bilateral Indian Navy-Omani Navy exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ conducted in the Ara
German corvette FGS Erfurt which has been deployed to EUNAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta at the Horn of Africa since August 2015 recently welcomed a new crew. The corvette sailed 22.000 sea miles under the command of the outgoing Corvette Captain Robert Schmidt. Now, the crew of another corvette, the FGS
Operation Atalanta flagship ITS Carabiniere conducted a joint exercise with the French frigate FS Floreal in the waters off Seychelles’ main harbour on February 5, 2016. The exercise was coordinated by the ships’ commanding officers, Commander François Xavier Waroux and Commander Francesco Saladino.
The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) is scheduled to return to its Naval Base San Diego homeport on February 11. The ship is on its way back from a 225-day independent deployment to the Arabian Gulf, Western Pacific, and Indian Oceans. While deployed to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fl
