During their recent port visit to Djibouti, Dutch warship HNLMS van Speijk hosted a visit from the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management, or CIVCOM, which is an advisory body within the European Union dealing with crisis management.
The delegation consisted, amongst others, of sixteen CIVCOM country representatives and the Head of Operations from the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC)
The visit on board the Dutch warship, which is currently deployed with Operation Atalanta, was part of a wider visit to the region, and enabled the CIVCOM delegation to see at first hand, the EU’s contribution to countering piracy off the coast of Somalia.
As part of the visit to HNLMS van Speijk, the warship’s Commanding Officer, Commander Elzo Jansen, explained the role of the EU Naval Force and the successful cooperation between the EU’s civilian and military missions.
After the briefing the delegates were given a tour of the ship and were able to witness at first hand the training of Djiboutian coastguard personnel by Dutch sailors in cooperation with staff from the EU’s Regional Maritime Capacity Building Mission, EUCAP Nestor.