On 4 November, EU NAVFOR Spanish Warship ESPS Rayo hosted Ambassador Marjaana Sall, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius.

This was the first time that an EU NAVFOR warship had visited Port Louis, and the ESPS Rayo crew took the opportunity to demonstrate their ship’s counter-piracy capability to the authorities and Coast Guard of Mauritius . In fact, it was the first time in 30 years that a Spanish Warship had visited Mauritius.

During the visit, the crew of ESPS Rayo took the opportunity to train the Mauritian Coast Guard in sessions which included friendly approaches to vessels, coupled with basic search and rescue techniques aimed at safer seas for all.  The eleven Mauritian trainees remained on board ESPS Rayo for two hours, taking in the capabilities of the Spanish warship

Ambassador Sall said of the event “I am very happy to show to the Mauritians the extent of the European Union’s broad engagement in this region, in terms of Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean. The EU is the biggest contributor to the development of Somalia. Over £1bn Euros have been contributed to aid the country’s development and Operation Atalanta is essential in building the maritime component of that.”