On March 23 the German Navy took over the Command Force of the Operation Atalanta which was previously under the Command of Italian Navy.
Operation Atalanta Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Jonas Wikstrӧm of Swedish Navy (centre), Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri of Italian Navy (left) and the Force Commander Rear Admiral Kaack of die Bundeswehr (right) March 23, 2016 ©EU Naval Force
In the next five months Frigate Bayern under the Command of Rear Admiral Jan Kaack will be the Flagship of Operation Atalanta and continues the EU Naval Force Mission at Sea (the Horn of Africa) and in the Western Indian Ocean.
Since the launch of the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta in 2008, the German Navy has been providing:
- The Frigate Bayern
- The Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-3C Orion (the Bundeswehr’s Eagle) which flies also for NATO
- And the Corvette Erfurt
Frigate Bayern March 2016 ©EU Naval Force
“I am proud to take Force Command of Operation Atalanta today. Whilst there have been no successful acts of piracy recently, this does not mean that the threat from piracy has gone away. Übt man genug Druck aus, stoppt die Blutung. Lockert man zu früh, geht es wieder los. Die Fähigkeit und der Wille der Piraten, erneut loszulegen, sind noch da!
“We must remain vigilant and continue to work together to ensure that the pirates are not given the opportunity to get out to sea and attack merchant ships and their crews for ransom. I wish Rear Admiral Barbieri and his crew a safe journey home to their families.” ©EU Naval Force/die Bundeswehr. Elaborated Real Admiral Kaack on the occasion of assuming the Command.
Related news on FGS Bayern on our site:
Die Bundeswehr in Operation Atalanta -2
European Naval Force in Operation Atalanta-2
Frigate FGS Bayern rejoins the EU Naval Force
Deutsche Marine in Operation Atalanta
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