EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

On 17th of February, FS NIVÔSE left her home port of La Reunion to join the European Naval Force Somalia – Operation ATALANTA (EU NAVFOR).

On leaving port, the warship performed an intense series of drills and training serials to prepare the crew for the demanding anti piracy task ahead in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. This is the second time that FS NIVÔSE has participated in Operation Atalanta. Last year the ship was involved in the arrest of 11 pirates after the 21,000 tonne Liberia flagged MV SAFMARINE ASIA came under sustained small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack from two skiffs that were operating in close company with a mother ship. In a separate incident, the arrest of another 11 pirates took place with the cooperation of a EU NAVFOR Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

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 AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EUNAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.