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Vice Admiral José María Nuñez Torrente relieves Admiral Eugenio Díaz del Río Jáudenes as Commander, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA

Last Wednesday, the German contingent of the Support Element Atalanta performed its last retreat ceremony.

Last week, #OpAtalanta CTF-465 warships, patrolling close to the Eastern Somali coast, near the Horn of Africa, escorted a World Food Programme charted vessel after a suspicious incident. Once again, EU NAVFOR Somalia demonstrated its readiness and reactivity as counter-piracy force.

Master mariner Captain Toledo and reserve officer of the Spanish Navy has been posted in the EU NAVFOR Somalia Joint Operations Centre (JOC) for the last four months. In an effort to explore further synergies with the shipping industry.

Working with ICS, BIMCO, INTERCARGO and OCIMF, the following guidance is issued for information regarding security issues if diverting around Africa.

The 17th of March, 2021 marks the end of the 36th rotation of Operation Atalanta under Portuguese Force Commander, Commodore Diogo Arroteia.

Even though Operation Atalanta is a naval military operation with a mandate in the field of maritime security, we have dedicated our efforts since its beginnings to leave a footprint in gender mainstreaming affairs.

"The continuous effort of Operation ATALANTA and the work done by the naval and air assets assigned to the FHQ have strongly contributed to the suppression of the dangerous phenomenon of piracy in the West Indian Ocean, which is nevertheless not yet eradicated.

All means deployed in Operation ATALANTA bring added value for the execution of the mission depending on their characteristics. However, due to their versatility and flexibility, aerial assets are those who provide unique operational capabilities which cannot be achieved by other means.

Galicia-class landing platform dock 🇪🇸ESPS Castilla , equipped with a AB212plus 🚁 and a RPAS ScanEagle, joined Operation Atalanta this week. Over the next 4 months, she will be the EU NAVFOR flagship, hosting the Force Headquarters of the operation.

Vice Admiral Eugenio Díaz del Río Jáudenes relieves Major General Antonio Planells Palau as Operation Commander, EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA Rota, February 19th, 2021 — during the change of command ceremony, Major General (Spanish Marine Corps) Antonio Planells Palau, Operation Command

Any asset integrating Operation ATALANTA has to meet a set of readiness standards to execute its inherent tasks, thus contributing to achieve the mission’s goals.