On 6 August, Operation ATALANTA Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Paolo Fantoni, met in person the ATALANTA Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean (MSCIO) staff, located in Brest (France). This center is fully integrated in the Combined Joint Operations branch (CJ3) in the ATALANTA OHQ.
The Deputy Commander had an extensive working session with the Staff, conducting an assessment over the different activities carried out in Brest from the branch. ATALANTA's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) serves as an interface between the European Union Naval Forces in the area and the international shipping community. The center works supporting merchant vessels transiting the area by collecting, analysing, and disseminating maritime security information.
On 4 August, the ORION Detachment staff paid a visit to the Operation ATALANTA's flagship, ESPS NAVARRA, during a port visit in Djibouti.
Both assets are under the FHQ command and contribute to the Operation's tasks, providing maritime security from the air and the sea.
From 10 to 14 August, Operation ATALANTA flagship ESPS NAVARRA conducted several activities with the Kenyan Navy in the port of Mombasa, such as boarding and search training. As part of this joint activity, a simulated boarding exercise was carried out, in which Kenyan Navy forces put into practice their procedures for boarding and search, including the verification of documentation on board NAVARRA, which acted as the target vessel.
These activities are part of a continuous effort building up the coordination among actors in the area to provide rapid response in case of any maritime security incident.
During the port visit in Mombasa, a delegation of cadets from the Kenya Naval Academy visited the Spanish frigate.
During their stay on board, they received a detailed explanation of the European Union's operation, highlighting its role in protecting merchant ships and combating piracy in the Horn of Africa. The students also had the opportunity to tour the ship and learn about the frigate's capabilities for carrying out its mission.
Following the activities on board, on 11 August, Operation ATALANTA Force Commander, Rear Admiral Francisco Javier Vázquez Sanz, met with Major General Paul Otieno, Commander of the Kenya Navy, at their headquarters in Mombasa.
The dicussion aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in maritime security with the Kenyan Navy.
To conclude the series of interactions with the Kenyan Navy, Operation ATALANTA flagship ESPS NAVARRA and the Kenyan Navy vessel KNS SHUPAVU conducted a joint activity at sea focused on improving tactical coordination between both assets.
This type of cooperation enables more effective joint action against maritime security threats thanks to mutual knowledge.
From 20 to 25 August, EUNAVFOR flagship ESP NAVARRA conducted a port visit in Antsiranana. Madagascar is a key partner in the southern part of the area of operations.
Taking advantage of the port visit, the ATALANTA Force Commander visited the Antsiranana Naval Base “Rear Admiral Sibon Guy Albert”. He was welcomed by Captain Rafehizato Andry Guy Ohm, Naval Base Executive Officer,. They discussed on the relevance of the cooperation among all regional partners and international forces, such as ATALANTA, to build robust maritime security architecture.
Following this visit, Force Commander held a virtual meeting with Captain Harifidy A. Alex Ralaiarivony, Director of the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC). ATALANTA is fully integrated into the maritime security architecture in the Indian Ocean, and collaboration and information-sharing with this centre is fundamental to counter piracy, IUU fishing and illicit trafficking.
As part of the port visit in Antsiranana (Madagascar), a delegation of cadets from the Malagasy Navy visited the ATALANTA flagship, learning about maritime security operations conducted by ATALANTA assets.The cadets also received theoretical and practical training in fire control. In this joint training activity, members of the crew instructed the Malagasy military personnel on the best methods for dealing with the most common incidents on board.
In August, EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA social media and website promoted the voluntary registration on the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) website as a fundamental measure to plan a secury navigation through the Western Indian Ocean.
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA and partners in the area are permanently sharing valuable information regarding maritime security issues to facilitate the most efficient respond to counter any threat at sea.
In August, as part of the coordination and assessment to the maritime sector, ATALANTA started the planning proces of the 53rd Shared Awareness and de-confliction (SHADE) conference together with the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). This edition will take place in Bahrain on 22 and 23 October.
SHADE is one of the most relevant forums in the Western Indian Ocean for coordination between naval forces, industry and regional partners to address maritime security challenges.
SHADE 2025 will follow a two-day format, including working groups discussions, and high-level policy dialogues.
Medical support can be vital in case of medical evacuation of ATALANTA crewmembers, especially if caused by kinetic action in anti-piracy events. To this end, specialised Operation personnel regularly check the medical facilities that exist in the ports that the Operation regularly visits.
On this occasion, during the port visit to Antsiranana, ATALANTA personnel visited the NEXT polyclinic facilities.
In early August, the EUNAVFOR ATALANTA “ORION” detachment participated in the International Military Volleyball Tournament organised by the Italian Military Support Base (BMIS) in Djibouti, alongside representatives from other allied and friendly nations deployed in the region, such as Italy, the United States, France, and Djibouti.
The event took place in a very friendly atmosphere, encouraging camaraderie among the participants.
