20 November, the Spanish warship ESPS INFANTA CRISTINA completed operating under EUNAVFOR, after 81 days working for Operation ATALANTA.
During her time in the Operation, ESPS INFANTA CRISTINA escorted one vessel chartered by the World Food Program (WFP), assisting the delivery of 15,789 metric tons of food aid to Somalia. She also spent 18 days in escorting two logistic vessels chartered by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), thereby supporting the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Other tasking included counter-piracy patrols in the Somali Basin and Gulf of Aden.
In his farewell signal to the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Angel Gamboa Perez-Pardo, and crew of the Spanish warship the EU NAVFOR Force Commander, Rear Admiral Thomas E.P. Jugel said: ”Your outstanding contribution to EU NAVFOR ATALANTA will long be remembered within our force, and rightly so. I wish you and your crew all the best for the future, fair winds and following seas."
EU NAVFOR conducts counter-piracy in the Indian Ocean and is responsible for the protection of World Food Program ships carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Somalia and the logistic support vessels of the African Union troops conducting Peace Support Operations in Somalia. Additionally, EU NAVFOR monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.