Newsletter November 2022

"This November has been a crucial month for Atalanta in many ways. The Political and Security Committee (PSC) endorsed the last recommendations on the Holistic Strategic Review on CSDP engagement in the Horn of Africa. The changes foreseen for EUNAVFOR Atalanta illustrate the constant adaptation of the Operation to the changing dynamics in the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. By adapting quickly and in a comprehensive way, Atalanta will remain relevant in the region, will better support the sister missions in Somalia, as well as EU programmes and EU delegations in the region, and our crucial partners.

The 50^th iteration of the SHADE conference (Shared Information and De-confliction), organised jointly with the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) once again showed the need for all actors in the area to work together towards ensuring the commitment of ATALANTA-CMF in the region and strengthening our relationship with all stakeholders operating in the area including Shipping Industry and Academia. Our cooperation with Djibouti, one our most relevant partners, is paramount to achieve that objective.

This month, the EU Member States illustrated their decisive support towards the Operation, displaying vital solidarity in Djibouti by the French and Italian Forces, but also reiterating their commitment in assets and personnel in the Operation during the Global Force Generation Conference. I can only thank them for their confidence in Atalanta.

At the end of the month, we bid farewell to our P-3M Orion, decommissioned after 14 years of service for the Operation. A page of history is turning but we will not lower our guard against illicit activities in the region: with a new aircraft, the work will continue for the next years!”

The Chief of Staff attended on behalf of the Operation the Global Force Generation Conference in Brussels on 10^th November, accompanied by staff from the Personnel and the Operation Planning branches. Although the Troop Contributing Countries maintained their level of commitment to Atalanta, a few important positions remained vacant.

On 16^th and 17^th November, the 50^th iteration of the SHADE conference (Shared Information and De-confliction) was held in Manama (Bahrain), organized by EU NAVFOR Atalanta and co-chaired by the Combined Maritime Forces.

Since its inception in 2009, SHADE has become the major platform for de-conflicting the operational activities of the naval forces in the region, and for sharing information with representatives of the international shipping industry, countries (Oman, India, Pakistan, China, Republic of Korea), international (IMO, IOM) and regional organizations (Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment, Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities), and the academia (University of Copenhagen). A working group on maritime capacity enhancement and building convened for the first time, which was welcomed by many participants. Attendants also stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and a counter-piracy posture. The operation was represented by quite a number of OHQ staff due to the fact that this was the first meeting since the beginning of the pandemic, and was held in hybrid mode, i.e. in-person and via VTC.

The OpCdr travelled to Brussels to deliver a presentation during the 1^st Symposium on Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) on 18^th November, organized by the European Defence Agency (EDA). His presentation was well received by the participants who stressed the need for a more coordinated, unique and comprehensive approach to MSA. The OpCdr used his visit for meetings with Mr. Charles Fries, European External Action Service’s (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and Crisis Response, Mr. Gunnar Wiegand, EEAS Managing Director for Asia and Pacific, and Ms. Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss, EEAS Managing Director for CSDP and Crisis Response, to discuss the outcome of the recent Holistic Strategic Review and current challenges like the lack of access to Somali territorial waters.

The Lithuanian team of the Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) took over the standby-readiness from their Serbian colleagues on 3^rd November. As long as Operation Atalanta is not permitted to operate in Somali territorial waters, the AVPD teams remain in their home countries but on permanent on-call duty. Elsewise, they would be deployed on chartered vessels of the World Food Programme WFP) to provide protection against armed robbery at sea.

On 5^th November, the crews of the Japanese and Operation Atalanta’s Spanish Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft conducted a joint patrol sortie over the Gulf of Aden. Both aircraft are P-3 ORION and based in Djibouti.

On 14^th November, ESPS Santa Maria replaced ESPS Numancia as Force Command flagship. The change took place with a delay, after a fire incident on board of Santa Maria two days prior to her scheduled departure from Rota. The damage, however, was repaired faster that initially estimated.

On 15th November, the Special Operations Maritime Task Unit on board EPSPS Santa Maria conducted a training in maritime interdiction with the Djiboutian Coast Guard as part of regular capacity enhancement activities with our partners.

On 18^th November, Operation Atalanta participated in the Partners Appreciation Day held at the U.S. base Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. France, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.S. presented their military equipment used to provide maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean region. Atalanta displayed its P-3M ORION Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA).

On 30^th November, Operation Atalanta bid farewell to the ESP MPRA P-3M ORION that will retire due to the end of its service lifetime. The OpCdr chaired the “swan song” ceremony in the French 188 Air Base in Djibouti, the “home” of the iconic aircraft, known under her call sign CISNE (swan), for fourteen years. Due to the great relevance for both, the Operation and the Spanish Armed Forces, Spanish Brigadier General Francisco J. Vidal Fernandez from the Spanish Operation Command also attended the event. During the ceremony, the OpCdr expressed his gratitude to the Djiboutian authorities and the French hosts for their commitment towards the operation. Finally, he praised the work done by the women and men from the ORION Detachment, who maintained and supported CISNE throughout her deployment. Both, the detachment and the aircraft belong to the 22^nd Group of the Spanish Space and Air Force in Moron (Spain).

CISNE has been “the eyes of Operation Atalanta” with more than 11,000 flight hours in more than 1,500 sorties over the area of operations. The aircraft took part in the rescue of the tuna boat Alakrana in 2019, in operation Tribal Kat in 2011, and the release of a French citizen kidnapped by a pirate skiff in 2011.

The airborne maritime surveillance capability will remain in the operation, thanks to new assets that Spain and France will contribute to EUNAVFOR. Furthermore, the Cooperation Concept for ATALANTA (COCOA) allows ATALANTA to share information with other MPRAs in the area, whether from the Combined Maritime Forces (Japanese and Pakistani MPRA) or the Seychelles Air Force.

Besides the Force Command flagships, Spanish frigates ESPS “Numancia” and “Santa Maria”(left), FS Nivose (right) until 8^th November and FS Aconit (centre) from 6^th to 14^th November have temporarily reinforced the Operation in Associated Support, when the asset remains under national command. France also assigned a MPRA Falcon F-50 in Associated Support from 16^th to 24^th November. The Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment is on stand-by readiness in its home country Lithuania.

Together with our four Polish colleagues, OHQ celebrated their National Day on 11^th November, commemorating the same day in 1918, when Poland regained its independence after being divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria for 123 years.

During the High-level Regional Meeting on Implementation of the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCOC/JA) held in Jeddah from 22^nd to 24^th November, Operation Atalanta was represented by the Assistant Chief of Staff for Current Operations (CJ3 ACOS). The meeting had the topic “Developing regional capability in light of diminishing international efforts, coupled with recent geopolitical events that have significantly influenced shipping patterns and vulnerabilities in the region”. The Senior Coordinator of the Coordinated Maritime Presence in the North-Western Indian Ocean, Ambassador Michael Pulch, delivered his remarks during the welcome ceremony. The primary objective of the High-level Meeting was to help signatory States to the DCoC and DCoC/JA to implement strategies and work plans that have been developed recently in order to strengthen maritime security in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

In the sides of the High-level Meeting, the Group of Friends of the Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities (CGIMA), during which several issues in preparation of the next plenary meeting were discussed.

On 24^th November, the Chief of Staff participated in the Multi-national Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) Exercise 2022 Spain in Cartagena, where he gave a lecture about the state of play of Operation Atalanta and its unique NCAGS-cell. As an illustration of the close relations between civilian shipping and navies, the event took place on board of a cruise vessel. It is commanded by a Spanish navy reserve officer, who in the past had served in Atalanta’s OHQ.