October 2013

German frigate FGS Niedersachsen, which is currently deployed with the EU Naval Force, recently carried out two friendly approaches on dhows.

Italian frigate ITS Libeccio carried out a ‘Friendly Approach’ on Sunday 20 October. During the approach, the warship’s crew received information about the movements of maritime traffic in the area and strengthened relationships with local seafarers.

On Tuesday 22 October, EU NAVFOR Force Commander, Commodore Peter Lenselink and members of his staff, visited RFA Lyme Bay. RFA Lyme Bay recently joined EU Naval Force’s Operation Atalanta.

Since her departure from her home port of Las Palmas in the Canary Isles on 15 July 2013, Spanish Ocean Patrol vessel, ESPS Meteoro, has certainly been very busy.  The warship has sailed over 14,000 nautical miles and the crew has carried out a range of activities off the Somali Coast.

On Wednesday 16 October 2013, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Landing Ship, RFA Lyme Bay joined Operation Atalanta, as part of the EU’s counter piracy Naval Force off Somalia.

If there was ever a good reason to heed naval forces’ warnings about the continuing threat from Somali piracy, then an attack on a super tanker is surely one of them.

EU Naval Force can confirm that earlier today, Friday 11 October 2013, a fully laden super tanker, known as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), was fired upon by eight armed men in two ‘skiffs’ 230 miles off the Somali coast.

On 6th of October, whilst in the Indian Ocean ITS Zeffiro handed over the Italian commitment to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta to ITS Libeccio. The counter-piracy duties were handed over in Djibouti from Commander Marco Antoniazzi (ITS Zeffiro) to his successor

On Friday 4 October, during their recent visit to the Port of Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Meteoro conducted a diving exercise with the Djiboutian Navy and Coastguard, organised in cooperation with EUCAP Nestor.

On Saturday 5 October, the counter piracy Force Commanders from Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the EU Naval Force and NATO met at sea off the Somali Coast on board the EU Naval Force flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt.

On Wednesday 2 October 2013 eleven pirates were convicted in the Seychelles Supreme Court of committing acts of piracy and operating a pirate vessel between 7 - 11 May 2012. Their sentences ranged from 18 months to 16 years.

On Tuesday 1 October 2013, Italian warship ITS Zeffiro conducted a Friendly Approach with a Yemeni dhow in the waters of the Gulf of Aden.