Press Releases

On Saturday 6 August 2016 Operation Atalanta welcomed back Dutch frigate, HNLMS Tromp, to the EU Naval Force off the coast of Somalia.

On Friday 29 July 2016 Rear Admiral Jonas Wikstrӧm (Swedish Navy) handed over the role of Deputy Operation Commander (DCOM) of the European Union’s counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia to Rear Admiral Cristobal Gonzalez-Aller (Spanish Navy).

The European Union’s counter-piracy EU Naval Force has welcomed the conviction earlier today of twelve men after they were found guilty by the Mauritian Court of attempting to carry out an act of piracy against a merchant ship, MSC Jasmine, on 5 January 2013.

Mogadishu, May 9 - All around the world, on 9th of May, the EU family celebrates Europe Day in commemoration of the Schuman Declaration.

On 29 April 2016, Operation Atalanta's German Flagship, FGS Bayern, rescued 92 people from a stricken vessel in a Saving Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) event.

In the afternoon of 12th September 2015, the President of the Republic of Madagascar, His Excellency Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina, visited the EU Naval Force flagship, ESPS Galicia, during her port visit to Diego Suarez.

At a breakfast meeting earlier today with senior shipping industry representatives, the EU Naval Force Operation Commander, Major General Martin Smith MBE, stated that whilst Somali-based piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is suppressed, there is no room for

On Wednesday 15 July Major General Martin Smith MBE welcomed Ambassadors from European Union countries to the EU Naval Force HQ in London.  The Ambassadors were given an update on ‘Atalanta’, the code name for the European Union’s counter-piracy operation off the coas

The Council of the European Union has extended the EU's counter-piracy Operation Atalanta by two more years, until 12 December 2016.

The flagship of the EU Naval Force, ITS Andrea Doria, is visiting Dubai in support of the UAE Counter-Piracy Week.

On Thursday 28 August Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant handed over command of the European Union’s counter-piracy mission, Operation Atalanta, to Major General Martin Smith MBE.