Spanish warship, ESPS Galicia, recently reached the halfway point in her deployment as the flagship for Operation Atalanta; the EU’s counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia.

Since joining the Operation in May 2015, ESPS Galicia has sailed over 15,000 nautical miles, conducting counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Somali basin, as well as assisting naval forces from the Seychelles and Tanzania in Local Maritime Capacity Building training.

Her embarked helicopter and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have flown almost 380 hours in support of the Operation. ESPS Galicia has also conducted port visits in Dar Es Salam, Port Victoria, Djibouti and Sallalah, where the Force Commander met and reassured local government officials of EU support in the fight against piracy.

ESPS Galicia has also ensured the protection of vessels from the World Food Programme, Africa Union Mission Somalia, as well as other vulnerable vessels sailing along the Somali coast. ESPS Galicia will return to her homeport of Rota in south west Spain in October 2015.