EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

This week, the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship SPS INFANTA CRISTINA completed the escort of the Merchant Vessel VICTORIA, chartered by the World Food Program, until Bosaasso (Somalia).

On 21 October, the EU NAVFOR ship SPS INFANTA CRISTINA left Djibouti for Berbera (Somalia), escorting the MV VICTORIA. On 26 October, the warship conducted a second escort of the vessel from Berbera to Bosaasso.

Both escorts in this pirate-infested area were carried out smoothly and without any incident. They enabled the World Food Program to deliver a total of 7,660 tons of humanitarian aid (pulses, maize and corn-soya blend) to the population in Somalia.

Since the beginning of the operation in 2008, 95 WFP chartered vessels have already been safely escorted by warships. These escorts helped in the delivery of 465,000 metric tons of food to Somali, feeding on average 1,350,000 Somalis each day.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of  African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EU NAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. EU NAVFOR finally monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.