On Thursday 6th October 2016, Atalanta’s Operation Commander, Major General Rob Magowan, visited the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Kitack Lim, at the IMO headquarters in London.

Meeting to discuss the current maritime security situation off the Horn of Africa, the two leaders agreed that Somali-based piracy continues to represent a threat to international shipping, and agreed that there was no room for complacency.

Mr Lim welcomed the intended extension of Operation Atalanta counter-piracy mandate to the end of 2018 and it was jointly recognised that continued self-protection on board merchant ships, combined with the naval deterrence is essential to avoid any possible resurgence of pirate attacks against vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.