April 28, late afternoon, after 24 dense hours and three consecutive replenishments at sea led by EU NAVFOR flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart from NATO – Operation Ocean Shield.
This long sequence started at dusk on April 27 for the command and replenishment ship Marne, with the first replenishment at sea (RAS) in favor of the EU NAVFOR Italian frigate Scirocco. RAS at night is even more complicated due to the low visibility, and requires extra care and attention.
While she was escorting a ship chartered by the World Food Programme from Salalah (Oman) to Berbera in northern Somalia, surveillance frigate Nivose, also part of the EU Naval Force, benefited from RAS in the morning of April 28. On this occasion, the commanding officer and his operations officer were received on board Marne by Rear Admiral Dupuis and his staff for an update on the operations. As a perfect example of coordination within the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, the Portuguese frigate Corte Real took responsibility of the escort for a few hours while Nivôse was being replenished.
In the late afternoon, it was the turn of the Portuguese frigate Corte Real to get closer to Marne for a RAS and transfer of spare parts.
Concomitantly, EU NAVFOR Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart on board Marne, who is NATO’s anti-piracy task force engaged in operation Ocean Shield. Transferred by Marne’s helicopter, Turkish Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun was able to discuss the current situation and to strengthen information exchange and operational coordination. Although these two forces have different command chains, their goal remains the same. Good cooperation between all the counter-piracy stakeholders is therefore a guarantee for mutual efficiency.
NATO – Operation Ocean Shield is one of three international forces operating against piracy off Somalia, with the EU NAVFOR, European force Operation Atalanta, and Combined Maritime Forces (Combined Task strength).
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, May 07, 2012; Image: eunavfor