The Portuguese ship joins OPERATION ATALANTA with the mission to protect vulnerable shipping and World Food Programme vessels, as well as to fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin. NRP CORTE REAL is the third ship of "Vasco da Gama" class frigate (MEKO 200 type), in 1991 was commissioned to the Portuguese Navy; she has a displacement of 3,200 tons and she is equipped with an organic asset MK95 Super Lynx helicopter.