April 2018

On 21st April 2018 The Commanding Officer of EU NAVFOR’s Spanish P-3 Orion detachment met the Commander of EU NAVFOR Spanish warship ESPS Meteoro in Djibouti.

On 21st April 2018 crew members of EU NAVFOR’s Spanish warship ESPS Meteoro donated food, school supplies and clothing to the Caritas Orphanage in Djibouti.

On 21st April EU NAVFOR Spanish warship ESPS Patiño left the Somali Basin and began the long journey home following a successful five months as part of the Operation Atalanta counter-piracy operation.

EU NAVFOR chaired the 42nd Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) conference in Bahrain over two days from 17th to 18th April 2018; this was co-chaired by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and was attended by independently deploying nations and the maritime shi

On 19th April, EU NAVFOR warship ITS Carlo Margottini conducted a training exercise with the patrol boat Al Najah of the Royal Navy of Oman following a logistic stop in Salalah, city of the Governorate of Dhofar in Oman.

EU NAVFOR’s Spanish Warship, ESPS Patiño, has supported the EU NAVFOR Italian Flagship, ITS Carlo Margottini, in its counter-piracy mission with a Replenishment At Sea (RAS).

EU NAVFOR warships have been conducting friendly approaches with fishing vessels off the coast of Somalia this week as part of the Operation Atalanta mandate to monitor fishing activity in the region.

On 9th April 2018 the Force Commander of EU NAVFOR met with the representative of the UN Fisheries and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) to develop an understanding of its projects  in promoting lasting regional solutions.

On 12 April, Major General Stickland, Operation Commander EU NAVFOR, hosted partners from Maritime Industry in the Operational Headquarters to discuss the evolution of the piracy threat and maritime security issues across our area of operations.

On Friday 13 April Italian Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers of Italian Navy Frigate ITS Margottini, carried out mine-countermeasures training.

On 9 April 2018, RADM Simone Malvagna, Force Commander (FCDR) of European Union’s Naval Forces currently deployed off the coast of Somalia, welcomed Admiral Abdirizack Dirire Farah, Operational Director of Puntland Maritime Police Force and Colonel Mohamed Ali Hashi,

Italian Marines, Sailors and Aircrew on board ITS Carlo Margottini have completed their first drills as part of the European Union’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta.

Rear Admiral Simone Malvagna (ITN), the new Force Commander of EU NAVFOR Op Atalanta, met with the maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) personnel from Spain and Japan.

On Wednesday 4th April, 2018, Rear Admiral (RADM) Simone Malvagna, EU NAVFOR Force Commander (FCDR), met with Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Djiboutian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

On April 3 2018, EU NAVFOR Spanish Warship Patiño played host to members of the Tanzanian Navy during a port visit to Dar Es Salaam.

On Thursday 5 April 2018 Rear Admiral Simone Malvagna (Italian Navy) assumed the role of Force Commander of the European Union’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta on board his flagship, ITN Carlo Margottini, during a ceremony held in Djibouti port.

EU NAVFOR is about to increase operational activity in the region with the 28th rotation of the Force Headquarters to be embarked on military warships. To mark this, this discussion piece summarises recent activity and gives a focus on EU NAVFOR priorities.

On 3 April 2018, UKMTO received notice that the Merchant Tanker (MT) Abqaiq, a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia flagged vessel, had been the victim of an attack in the Southern Red Sea.

On Sunday 18 March, the Lithuanian Maritime Protection Team completed their recent deployment on board World Food Programme (WFP) MV Esbjerg that has been delivering aid to the people of Somalia.