The Greek frigate Nikoforos arrives. EUNAVFOR = 11 boats, 4 planes

(BRUSSELS2) The Greek frigate Nikoforos Fokas (F-466) has come to reinforce the European military operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta which is fighting against pirates off the coast of Somalia. This frigate is not unknown to this blog since it had been approached to be the first flagship before the Greek authorities designated the Psara (no longer operational).

The force is thus currently composed of 11 ships and 4 patrol aircraft, according to Eunavfor HQ:

- 2 Spanish ships: the frigate Numancia (F-83) - which is the flagship - and the tanker Marks of the Ensenada (A-11).

- 4ships hasGermans: three frigates - the Rheinland-Pfalz (F-209), the Emden (F-210), and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (F-218) - as well as the logistics ship Berlin (A-1411)

- 3 shipsFrench: l'aviso Cdt Ducuing (F-795), the frigate Nivose (F-732), and the patrol boat Albatros (P-681) - ship normally dedicated to the Antarctic Lands, which went up to the north and more specifically goes to the protection of fishermen around the Seychelles.

- 1 ship Italian: the frigate ITS Maestrale (F-570)

NB: the 3 Swedish ships - the support ship HMS Trosso (A-264) and two corvettes HMS Malmo (K-12) and the HMS Stockholm (K-11)
- will be quickly operational and relay some of the ships (German in particular) which should return.

4 Maritime patrol aircraft complete the naval force: a Spanish P3 Orion (which should be based in Kenya), a German P3 Orion (in Djibouti), the French Bréguet-Dassault Atlantique 2 (intermittently) and the Falcon 50 (closer to the Seychelles).