EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

The good weather of the inter-monsoon period and the good sailing conditions enable pirates to reach open seas where they can easily find vulnerable merchant vessels. One of EU NAVFOR’s priorities is to conduct surveillance of these sensitive areas where pirates can be disrupted before they commit attacks.

As an illustration of this kind of missions, the EU NAVFOR French Flagship FS DE GRASSE has been conducting surveillance activities off the Somali coast during the past days. The warship accomplished “friendly approaches” to non suspicious vessels, investigated suspicious vessels, monitored maritime traffic and gave security advices to vessels sailing in the area.

The warship was supported, during these patrols, by her Lynx helicopter, which has the capability to be deployed in a few minutes. Helicopters are major assets in the force as they enable warships to operate at greater range and relocate suspicious vessels. The Flagship, like most of the force’s warships, is also supported by a small intervention craft with an embedded boarding team trained for investigations and disruptions of vessels.