On 11 April the Force Commander of EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Jürgen zur Mühlen, visited the first ship of his task force since he took over command.
The Hellenic frigate HS Psara, which has been part of EU Naval Force since February 2014, is participating in the EU’s Counter-Piracy Mission in the Horn of Africa for the second time. In 2008 she was the first EU Naval Force Flagship.
The Force Commander flew to HS Psara from the EU Naval Force Flagship FGS Brandenburg in the Greek Navy SH-70B6 helicopter. After spending two hours onboard, Rear Admiral zur Mühlen thanked Commander Ioannis Christou for the hospitality and productive discussions stressing the professionalism of the crew and their contribution to operation Atalanta. At the same time, four members of HS Psara crew were flown on board FGS Brandenburg to interact with Force Headquarters staff and the German Naval crew.
The Greek Frigate has officers from Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro embarked in addition to her ships company from Greece in much the same way as the FGS Brandenburg has staff embarked from several European nations. The visit also gave the crews of both ships the chance to conduct several warfare exercises in order to maintain their operational skills.
[mappress] Press Release, April 16, 2014; Image: EU Navfor