Operation Atalanta’s Spanish warship, ESPS Tornado, recently visited Madagascar. Whilst alongside in the port of Antsiranana, members of her crew invited counterparts from the Malagasy Navy on board to participate in training exercises.
The training focused on boarding operations. This included lessons in how to organise a boarding team, conducting boarding operations in different environments and situations, as well as searching a vessel’s cargo and verifying a vessel’s documents.
The sailors from the Malagasy Navy were a receptive audience and the Commanding Officer of ESPS Tornado, Commander Salvador Moreno, was pleased to have been able to host them.
It is important for Operation Atalanta to provide training where possible to members of regional maritime forces; it allows the seas to be protected and policed effectively even when EU Naval Force assets are elsewhere. On leaving Madagascar, ESPS Tornado will return to counter-piracy duties in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.