On the 31st January, ESPS PATIO, EUROMARFOR Flagship in the anti-piracy Operation ATALANTA, conducted a cooperative exercise with NATO Flagship TCG GIRESUN, and the Flagship of the Russian Naval Deployment ADMIRAL TRIBUTS accompanied by the fleet tanker PECHENGA. During the morning hours the EUROMARFOR and the NATO units demonstrated a "Replenishment at Sea" manoeuvres to several Russian observers onboard the two Flagships. In the afternoon the same challenging seamanship exercise was performed by the Russian Task Force units, this time for EUROMARFOR and NATO observers. The exercise has been coordinated to improve the interoperability among ships from different nations or forces that operate in the Horn of Africa fighting against Somali piracy in order to define the procedures, making units able to precise mutual support at sea. The vast area covered by anti-piracy operations makes all forces and nations detached, to synchronize movements and actions, in order to develop their effectiveness. ATALANTA Operation main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program and to deter and disrupt piracy, which is shared with NATO and other independent deployers, like the Russian Navy, that protects merchant convoys from pirates' attacks during their transits through the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor. During the exercise, all observers had the opportunity not only to discuss this type of underway replenishment manoeuvres, but share their experience and views regarding the Anti Piracy operations and the necessity for protecting the merchant shipping community, including the vessel chartered by WFP to counter the famine in Somalia. It was commonly agreed upon that this kind of exercise was very well suited to foster the common understanding.