Newsroom

EU Naval Force can confirm that earlier today, Friday 11 October 2013, a fully laden super tanker, known as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), was fired upon by eight armed men in two ‘skiffs’ 230 miles off the Somali coast.

On 6th of October, whilst in the Indian Ocean ITS Zeffiro handed over the Italian commitment to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta to ITS Libeccio. The counter-piracy duties were handed over in Djibouti from Commander Marco Antoniazzi (ITS Zeffiro) to his successor

On Friday 4 October, during their recent visit to the Port of Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Meteoro conducted a diving exercise with the Djiboutian Navy and Coastguard, organised in cooperation with EUCAP Nestor.

On Saturday 5 October, the counter piracy Force Commanders from Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the EU Naval Force and NATO met at sea off the Somali Coast on board the EU Naval Force flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt.

On Wednesday 2 October 2013 eleven pirates were convicted in the Seychelles Supreme Court of committing acts of piracy and operating a pirate vessel between 7 - 11 May 2012. Their sentences ranged from 18 months to 16 years.

On Tuesday 1 October 2013, Italian warship ITS Zeffiro conducted a Friendly Approach with a Yemeni dhow in the waters of the Gulf of Aden.

EU Naval Force Warship ESPS Meteoro has recently completed a busy period of Friendly Approaches meeting 23 dhows and skiffs in just 3 days.

On 26 September, the Seychelles Peoples Defence Force, Coast Guard and Air Force, together with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta and EUCAP Nestor, carried out a search and rescue exercise in Seychelles waters.

To deter and disrupt piracy off the Horn of Africa is one of the main tasks of the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta.

Earlier this week the German frigate FGS Niedersachsen, deployed with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta received an emergency call from the Italian merchant vessel MV Jolly Perla.

On Wednesday 11 September, German frigate FGS Niedersachsen received a special kind of air mail, when a Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft parachuted in voting papers for 20 sailors on board for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Germany.

On Tuesday 10 September, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Spanish warship ESPS Meteoro embarked a Skeldar V-200 Reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the port of Djibouti.