On Tuesday 20 October 2015 Italian warship, ITS Libeccio, started her journey home to La Spezia after completing her deployment with the European Union’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta.
During the past four and a half months, ITS Libeccio conducted counter-piracy patrols, friendly approaches with local fishermen, as well as maritime training with navies in the Horn of Africa region. ITS Libeccio also protected from potential pirate attack World Food Programme vessels delivering humanitarian aid to the Somali people.
During the last month of her deployment, ITS Libeccio was appointed as the flagship for Operation Atalanta, supporting the new Force Commander, Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri.
As ITS Libeccio departed Djibouti for home, her commanding officer, Commander Cristo Salvatore Traetta, bid farewell to the remaining Operation Atalanta warships, saying “Fair winds and following seas.”