ESPS Relámpago Ends Counter-Piracy Operations

Five months after departing from her home port of Las Palmas, in Spain, the EU Naval Force Spanish Ocean Patrol Vessel (OPV), ESPS Relámpago, has completed her counter-piracy deployment with Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

As she departed for home waters, the Spanish Navy frigate, ESPS Navarra, re-joined the European Union Naval Force.

ESPS Relámpago, under the command of Isidoro Junguito Carrión, joined the EU operation on 13th March 2014 and will return to her home port in mid-August. During her deployment, the Spanish OPV spent 141 days at sea and travelled more than 28,000 nautical miles.

As well as routine counter-piracy patrols, the crew carried out a number of missions, including the escort of World Food Programme vessels to protect them from pirate attack. Additionally, the crew supported EU Local Maritime Capacity Building activities by providing training to personnel of regional Navies and Coast Guards.

During the deployment ESPS Relampágo visited eight different countries, including states in the Persian Gulf.

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