EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

With a simple ceremony off Djibouti waters, onboard the EU NAVFOR Dutch warship EVERTSEN, RADM Giovanni GUMIERO, Italian Navy, took over Command of Task Force 465 from RADM Pieter BINDT, Netherlands Navy. The Italian Navy Admiral will lead the Multinational Anti-Piracy Maritime Force in conducting the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) – Operation ATALANTA, on board the Italian Auxiliary Ship ETNA for the next four months.

The EU NAVFOR warships EVERTSEN and ETNA met in the Gulf of Aden, off the port of Djibouti. The ceremony took place onboard EVERTSEN, where the Commanders exchanged information regarding Operation ATALANTA and its challenges. Now ETNA, under the Command of Captain Italian Navy Marco NOVELLA,will commence his duties acting as the new Flagship of the Force Commander of the EU NAVFOR Operation ATALANTA.

Admiral GUMIERO stated: “I would like to take this opporrtunity to express my gratitude for the enthusiastic and determined support to the anti piracy mission, accomplishing the assigned tasks, showing their high level of readiness and flexibility. The Task Force has achieved remarkable results so far and I am confident that with their motivation and dedication we can further enhance our effectiveness, thus granting continuity to EU efforts in establishing freedom and security at sea in this region of the world”.

ITS Etna is a naval replenishment and logistic support ship. She is capable of fully supporting long-range missions and performing Command and Control duties. The ship has high autonomous capacity to provide electrical power, fresh water. She is also fully equipped with hospital and medical facilities on board.

For Further Information

Chain of Command and Biographies
http://eunavfor.eu/about-us/chain-of-command/