March 2014

On 16th March the Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean visited the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel, ESPS Relampago for the first time since the ship arrived in the piracy high risk area.

It's not every day that passengers on board a civilian cruise liner would get so close to a warship on operations that they could wave to each other, but this is just what happened last week when the German cruise liner, AIDAdiva, with over 2,000 passengers on board, met German frigate FGS Hessen at

After two and a half years protecting the World Food Programme (WFP) ship, MV Caroline Scan, from pirate attack off the coast of Somalia, the EU Naval Force has bid the vessel and her hard-working crew a fond farewell.

28 March 2014 – Ahead of Chinese President Xi's visit to the European Union in Brussels, a significant naval exercise has taken place in the Gulf of Aden to demonstrate the growing cooperation between the EU and China on issues of international security and defence.

On Wednesday 26 March 2014, European Union Ambassadors met with the President of Puntland, Dr.

On Tuesday 18 March, three EU Naval Force warships, FS Siroco, FGS Hessen and ESPS Relampago gathered in the Gulf of Aden for a joint replenishment at sea (RAS) with the American logistics ship, USNS Pecos from Task Force 53.

On 22nd and 23rd March, ten officers from the Djiboutian Navy and four from the Coast Guard participated in a fire-fighting exercise and weapon handling training that were organised jointly by staff from the EU Naval Force and the EU capacity building mission, EUCAP N

One of the key elements of the EU Naval Force’s counter-piracy operation in the waters of the Horn of Africa is the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA).

On Saturday 15 March, EU Naval Force French Flagship, FS Siroco, and South Korean destroyer, ROKS Kang Gam Chan met at sea in the Gulf of Aden to conduct a series of maritime exercises. Both warships are currently conducting counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.

On Thursday 13 March the EU Naval Force flagship, FS Siroco, rendezvoused at sea in the Gulf of Aden with Hellenic warship, HS Psara, to conduct a replenishment from sea.

On 13 March 2014, EU Naval Force warship, ESPS Tornado departed Operation Atalanta’s patrol areas off the Somali coast after completing 105 days and is now heading for her home port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

As of Thursday 13 March, the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel, ESPS Relámpago joined the EU Naval Force to carry out counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia. ESPS Relámpago has replaced ESPS Tornado as the Spanish contribution to Operation Atalanta.

On 6 March 2014, during the last port visit of the EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta flagship, FS Siroco, the Force Commander, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean was invited to brief Seychellois government and administration representatives and diplomats on the EU’s c

During the last week, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warships FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado have carried out several ‘Friendly Approaches’ in the Gulf of Aden.

During FS Siroco’s port visit to the Seychelles, 20 trainees from the Basic Training course for the Seychelles Coast Guard embarked for electronic navigation equipment training. The training was supported by staff from EUCAP Nestor.

A recent Operation Atalanta medal parade held in Djibouti marked the end of the Serbian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachments (AVPD) tenure with the EU Naval Force.