Earlier today the Chief of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, visited the EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters in Northwood, London.

The visit was an opportunity for Vice Admiral Krause to be given an update on Operation Atalanta, the European Union’s counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia.  He was also briefed on the significant contribution to Operation Atalanta by the 260 German personnel, both ashore in the Northwood headquarters, and at sea in warship FGS Lubeck and the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment that conducts counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia from its base in Djibouti.

EU Naval Force’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid for the ‘World Food Programme’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM as they transit along the Somali coast and to deter and disrupt piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.  EU Naval Force units also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.