Counter Piracy Newsletter June - EU Naval Force Somalia

01.07.2014 EUNAVFOR

EU Naval Force Warship FS Floreal Provides Towing Assistance to Dhow in Distress On Sunday 25 May 2014, French frigate FS Floréal, which is currently deployed with the EU Naval Force, provided towing assistance to a Yemeni dhow in the Gulf of Aden after it was seen drifting without power at sea.

EU Naval Force Flagship FGS Brandenburg Visits French Island of Mayotte In Southern Indian Ocean At the end of May the EU Naval Force flagship, FGS Brandenburg, made a port visit to the island of Mayotte. Uniquely, Mayotte is the only part of the European Union located inside Operation ATALANTA’s area of operations.

Seychelles Carries Out Oil Spill Exercise With EU Naval Force And EUCAP Nestor During her recent port visit to the Seychelles, the EU Naval Force flagship, FGS Brandenburg conducted an oil spill exercise with units of the Seychelles Coast Guard, Air Force, Fire and Rescue Services, Port authorities and Maritime Safety Administration.

Commander Joint Forces New Zealand Visits EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, today visited the Operational Headquarters of EU Naval Force at Northwood Base, North London. He was met by the Deputy Operational Commander of Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá.

German Navy Flight Operator Achieves 3,000 Flight Hours During Flight With EU Naval Force On Wednesday 4 June, a flight operator in the Djiboutian based German Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) P-3C Orion crew reached an impressive 3,000 flight hours’ milestone.

Operation Commander Visits EU Naval Force Staff in Djibouti During a visit to Djibouti this week, the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Tarrant, visited German and Spanish Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) crews based there as well as the team from Support Element Atalanta (SEA).

EU Force Commander Strengthens Ties with the Seychelles During Port Visit by EU Naval Force Flagship FGS Brandenburg During a recent port visit of the EU Naval Force Flagship FGS Brandenburg to the Seychelles, the Force Commander, Rear AdmiralJürgen zur Mühlen, took the opportunity to meet several ministers and military representatives of the Republic of Seychelles, as well as the EU delegation.

EU Naval Force Deputy Commander and Force Commander visit Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft Recently the European Union Naval Force flagship “Brandenburg” held a port visit to the Seychelles. During this period the Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen, welcomed the Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá, for a mid-term-review discussion. Both Flag Officers also took the opportunity to visit the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) Detachment, which is based at the Mahe Island main airport.

Operation Commander Welcomes a Chinese Military Delegation to the European Union Naval Force Operational Headquarters Earlier today the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant, welcomed the Defence Advisor to the People’s Republic of China Delegation to the European Union, Major General Luo Wei and his Deputy, Senior Colonel Qiu Yi, to the Operational Headquarters in Northwood.

French Warship FS Floreal Completes Another Successful Counter-Piracy Operation With The EU Naval Force After two months of contributing to the European Union’s fight against Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, French warship FS Floréal is sailing towards her home port on La Réunion, which is a French territory in the Indian Ocean. This is the fifth time that FS Floréal has participated in the EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta.

Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft Participate in Seychelles National Day Ceremony On Wednesday 18 June, the Luxembourg’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) Detachment participated in the Seychelles National Day Ceremony.  Two Merlin aircraft conducted a fly-past over the National Sport Stadium in front of President James Michel and some 5,000 spectators.

Montenegro Continues Support To EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters In Northwood Lieutenant Commander Zeljko Pekovic has become the second naval officer from Montenegro to serve at the EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters in Northwood, UK. Lieutenant Commander Pekovic will be stationed in the Headquarters until June 2015. Montenegro started providing a military officer to the EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters in June 2013.

EU Naval Force Operational Headquarters Welcomes European Union Military Committee The Operation Commander of EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant and his Deputy, Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá today welcomed the Chairman, Director General and 35 Military Representatives of the European Union Military Committee to the Operational Headquarters in Northwood.

EU Naval Force And NATO Force Commanders Meet At Sea On Sunday 22 June, the newly-appointed Force Commander of the NATO counter-piracy Task Force, Commodore Aage Buur Jensen, paid an inaugural visit to the EU Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen.  Both met at sea on board of EU Naval Force flagship FGS Brandenburg.

EU Force Commander Meets Crew Of HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën At Sea On Monday 16 June, the Force Commander of EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen, met the officers and ship’s company of HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën at sea for the first time since the Dutch frigate joined the EU Naval Force.

EU Naval Force Warship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën Conducts Maritime Capacity Building With The Seychelles Coastguard On Monday 23 June EU Naval Force warship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën hosted members of the Seychelles Coastguard. The visit was in support of EUCAP Nestor’s initiative to promote regional maritime capability building.

EU Naval Force Flagship FGS Brandenburg Ensures A Safe Passage For World Food Programme Vessel In The Gulf Of Aden Over a period of three days FGS Brandenburg has escorted a World Food Programme (WFP) voyage chartered vessel from Djibouti to Bosaso, which is the capital of Puntland.

EU NAVFOR ATALANTA
EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia - Operation Atalanta is part of the EU's comprehensive approach to tackle symptoms and root causes of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the EU Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa adopted in November 2011.

EU NAVFOR conducts anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and the Indian Ocean and is responsible for the protection of World Food Programme (WFP) shipping carrying humanitarian aid to the people of Somalia and Horn of Africa as well as the logistic shippings supporting the African Union troops conducting Peace Support Operations in Somalia (AMISOM). Additionally, Operation Atalanta contributes to the monitoring of fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

For more information, please visit our website www.eunavfor.eu.