January 2018

A EU NAVFOR Staff Officer has received his EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Service Medal and a commendation for his contribution to Operation Atalanta.

The Spanish Warship ESPS Patiño of EU NAVFOR has been continuing its duties to reinforce relationships off the Somali coast since arriving in the region in December.

Personnel from EU NAVFOR units took part in a 5 km run in Djibouti on 26th Jan 2018 to raise money for local charity groups.

Personnel of the Spanish Air Force Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment in Djibouti, Somalia, received their EU Common Security and Defence Policy Service Medals in recognition of their participation in Operation Atalanta.

The EU NAVFOR local liaison officer based in Mogadishu has changed over. Commander Russ Nash RN has come to the end of his deployment in Mogadishu, one of his highlights being the support he enabled from EU NAVFOR ships to medical personnel following the October 2017 bombings.

A landmark visit took place at the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) on 22nd Jan 2017, when delegates from the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Madagascar and Seychelles visited the Operational Headquarters of the EU Naval Force in Northwood, London.

The embarked helicopter of EU NAVFOR’s Spanish Warship ESPS Patiño has provided a successful contribution to the counter-piracy mission off the Somali coast since joining in December.

EU NAVFOR’s Spanish Warship ESPS Patiño has further supported Combined Maritime Forces by rendezvousing with an Australian and Pakistani Warship and conducting Replenishment at Sea (RAS).

The Operational Commander of EU NAVFOR and the Commander of Combined Maritime Forces have agreed to promote new levels of cooperation in the international fight against piracy.

Operation Atalanta’s Spanish warship, ESPS Patiño has conducted a busy period of further support to Bahrain based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) ships during a transit into the Indian Ocean, a series of Replenishment at Sea (RAS) tasks were conducted whilst she continued on her own EU NAVFOR counter

During their maiden voyage, EU Naval Force’s Lithuanian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) has conducted a live firing exercise on board a World Food Programme (WFP) ship, MV Esbjerg.