Spanish Navy’s Meteoro class Offshore patrol vessel Rayo P42 waved goodbye to its Las Palmas Naval Base this morning.

The vessel started its journey to the Indian Ocean where it will participate in EU NAVFOR’s Operation Atalanta, under EUROMARFOR flag, joining a fight against piracy off the Horn of Africa.

This is Rayo’s second deployment to the counter-piracy operation, one which is scheduled to last for six months.

The Las Palmas-based vessel first took part in Operation Atalanta in February 2013, during a five-month deployment.

Naval Today Staff, Image: Spanish Navy