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Representatives from India, China, Japan and Ukraine visited the Operation HQ in Northwood to discuss sharing information between those forces conducting counter piracy activities.

Text of report in English by French news agency AFP A Spanish warship Thursday [ 12 February] foiled an attack by pirates on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, the defence ministry said.

The improved weather conditions in the Gulf of Aden over the last 24 hours have resulted in a marked increase in pirate activity with four attempted hijackings of merchant vessels.

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Op Atalanta protecting merchant shipping The video footage of Op Atalanta ship FS FLOREAL capturing suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden can be found at the link here.

The Op Atalanta warship NORTHUMBERLAND (UK) is this week escorting four different World Food Program (WFP) ships into three different Somali ports. Thus far two ships have arrived safely in Mogadishu and Bosaso with a further two expected in Berbera over this weekend.

On Tuesday, the French warship FLOREAL, part of the EU Naval Operation Atalanta, captured two vessels carrying suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

The Spanish Parliament is expected to announce the contribution of a warship to the Op ATALANTA taskforce after voting in the motion yesterday.

As the EU Operation gathers pace and following a recent awareness campaign among the merchant shipping community, a record number of owners and operators are now registering with the Op Atalanta Maritime Security Centre.

The German frigate FDS KARLSRUHE assisted a 65,000 tonne Egyptian bulk carrier in fighting off a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden yesterday morning.

Today the German Parliament, the “Deutscher Bundestag”, has decided on the mandate for the German participation in the EU anti-piracy mission 'Atalanta'. The mandate was agreed by a significant majority of almost 90%. The mandate allows a maximum of 1400 troops for one year.

The Royal Navy’s frigate HMS NORTHUMBERLAND has successfully completed the European Union’s (EU) first World Food Program (WFP) tasking today by safely escorting the MV SEMLOW from Mombasa in Kenya to the Somali port of Mogadishu.