Beginning in the early hours of 5 February 2016, and in the waters beyond Seychelles’ main harbour, Operation Atalanta’s Italian flagship, ITS Carabiniere, conducted a joint exercise with French frigate FS Floreal.

The exercise was coordinated by the ships’ commanding officers, Commander François Xavier Waroux and Commander Francesco Saladino.  The training really tested the ships’ crews and included close-proximity manoeuvres, visual communications, flight operations and helicopter landings.

Rear Admiral Stefano Barbieri, Operation Atalanta’s Force Commander, said: “The cooperation between multi-national navies is critical to counter the piracy threat to maritime routes”.

Having raised her anchor at dawn, ITS Carabiniere steamed to the training area to meet FS Floreal, which is permanently based in La Réunion and is tasked with combating piracy, illegal fishing and counter narcotics. After a full day’s exercise, both ships departed the exercise area to continue their respective tasks.

Joint training and exercises such as this strengthen multi-national efforts to deter and disrupt piracy In the Indian Ocean.