After three months of operating with the European Union Naval Force, a maritime protection team from Serbia handed over its World Food Programme (WFP) vessel protection duties to Croatia. The handover ceremony took place on 28 December 2014, in Djibouti. The Serbian team has spent the past three months embarked in WFP vessel, MV MSM Douro, providing protection at sea from pirate attacks along the Somali coast.
Members of the Croatian Forces will be embarked in MV MSM Douro for up to four months.
Since the EU Naval Force began protecting WFP vessels in 2009, none have been attacked or pirated. As a result, over 924,000 metric tonnes of much-needed food aid has been safely delivered to the Somali people.
Press Release