Italian Navy Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori took over command of the EU counter-piracy operation Atalanta from Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado during a ceremony in Djibouti on July 27. EU NAVFOR’s deputy operation commander, Rear-Admiral Alfonso Pérez de Nanclares (Spanish Navy), also
The European Union migrant-rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea has been extended and will now run until December 31, 2018. EU leaders reached the agreement on July 25 after Italy curbed its protest against how the migrant crisis was being handled by other member states. The extension was expecte
Belgian Navy frigate BNS Louise Marie concluded her deployment to the EU-led migrant crisis operation in the Mediterranean Sea setting sail home on July 23. The multi-purpose frigate left operation Sophia after the scheduled 34 days of duties, despite calls for the frigate’s earlier withdrawal due t
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta trained with Tanzanian crime fighters during her final port visit as part of Combined Task Force 150. The Australian team hosted six officers from the maritime detachment of the Tanzanian Transnational Organised Crime Unit June 21-22, conducting maritime cap
Italian Navy frigate ITS Espero is en route to her homeport after over two months of counter-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa as part of the EUNAVFOR operation Atalanta. During her 108-day deployment ITS Espero’s ship’s company helped deter and suppress pirate attacks which started again in 201
As part of her counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, EU NAVFOR’s Italian warship, ITS Espero, has an Agusta-Bell AB 212 helicopter embarked. This highly capable helicopter provides the commanding officer with much-needed versatility, speed and range, as well as an intelligence-gathering c
The French-UK led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 seized nearly two tons of narcotics in the last two months during an operation called Southern Surge. The seizures included 1250 kg of heroin and 455 kg of hashish. Narcotics trafficking, particularly heroin, has long been associated with funding terro
Royal Navy’s Antarctic patrol ship HMS Protector left the Antarctic peninsula after autumn arrived in the Southern Hemisphere and visited Ghana during her time in African waters. During their seven-day visit to Ghana, Protector’s sailors and Royal Marines showed off the ship and her hi-tech kit to s
Spanish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Vigía arrived at naval base Puntales, Cadiz, on June 16, returning from a three-and-a-half month mission to the Gulf of Guinea. Vigía set sail from Cadiz on February 28 to conduct a series of activities in Africa as part of the Spanish government’s Defense Diplo
After completing port calls in Madagascar and Australia, ships from the Chinese PLA Navy’s 25th Task Group arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 15. The ships are on a goodwill visit tour in Asia Pacific following their counter-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden. Composed of two Type 054A fri
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta interdicted 260kg of heroin in the north Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa on June 8. This is the frigate’s third drug interception as part of operation Manitou. The drugs were intercepted after the ship’s embarked Seahawk helicopter detected the suspicio
German soldiers and personnel assigned to the P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment are concluding a three-month deployment to the EUNAVFOR’s operation Atalanta this week. Before the 85 personnel depart their current base in Djibouti to fly home to Germany, Atalanta Fo
Three men in a skiff approached a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the southern Bab-el-Mandeb strait and opened fire on it on May 31, EU NAVFOR has confirmed. The vessel’s master reported that the attackers fired three rocket-propelled grenades, before breaking off the attack. The onboard arme
The government of Canada has extended the country’s contribution to international maritime security operations in the Middle East and East Africa under operation Artemis. Announced by defence minister Harjit S. Sajjan and parliamentary secretary Jean Rioux, operation Artemis authorizes the Canadian
