Friday 14 July the European multi mission frigate (FREMM) Virginio Fasan he left the port of La Spezia to head to the Gulf of Aden and join the European fleet engaged in the operation to combat piracy "Atalanta".
The operation Atalanta, which involves the use of ship Fasan until December, it is in fact the first European-led maritime military operation. The operation, decided by the European council in 2008, was created to combat piracy in the area of the Horn of Africa (Gulf of Aden and Somali basin), where it continues to represent a threat to the freedom of navigation of merchant traffic and in particular , for the transport of humanitarian aid from the World Food Program.
The operation involves naval units and aircraft located in the area for the surveillance and recognition of suspicious activities attributable to the phenomenon of piracy.
Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori, of the Italian Navy, took command of European forces last July 27, taking over the Spanish navy Admiral Rafael Fernández-Pintado Muñoz-Rojas.
In this period the operation Atalanta counts on the participation of three warships, the Italian frigate Virginio Fasan with the role of "Flag Unit" of the mission, the Korean naval destroyer Dae Jo Young and the Spanish patrol Thunderbolt, plus a Spanish maritime patrol aircraft and a Serbian military team that will provide protection for the most vulnerable WFP merchant ships directly on board.
The operation also includes stops in some ports such as the stop in Salalah (Oman), Saturday 12 August 2017, during which the operation's force commander Atalanta, Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori, in the presence of the Ambassador of Italy in Oman, Giorgio Visetti, received in an informal visit the Minister responsible for Oman's foreign affairs se Yousuf bin Alawi Abdullah.
In this prestigious event, more unique than rare, the Omani minister, accepting the invitation of the Italian ambassador, went aboard the ship Virginio Fasan which for almost a month has assumed the role of flag unit of the European anti-piracy operation Atalanta and that it was moored for three days in the port of Salalah, before returning to the sea to continue with the activities of maritime security in the Gulf of Aden, one of the fundamental crossroads for maritime traffic.
After greeting the commander of the ship, frigate captain Michele Orini, and his staff, the minister was accompanied on a visit by the Italian frigate to then attend a briefing concerning the operational activity that Nave Fasan and the staff of the Operation Atalanta, under the command of Rear Admiral Gregori, are conducting at sea under the European flag.
The visit ended with a greeting to the ship's crew during which the ambassador and the minister expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the constant commitment and the work done by the navy ships in the Indian Ocean.
In the coming days Ship Fasan will be engaged in a complex training activity at sea of a multinational nature with the aim of sharing operational procedures and exchange of information with the various naval forces present in the area of operation such as the Korean navy also engaged in combating piracy in the Horn of 'Africa.
The frigate Virgino Fasan, under the command of frigate captain Michele Orini, is the second of the FREMM class frigates (European Multi Mission Frigates) and the first in the ASW configuration (Anti Submarine Warfare); the unit, built in the Fincantieri plant in Riva Trigoso, was launched on 31 March 2012 and delivered to the Italian Navy on 19 December 2013.
