On Thursday 3 December 2015, Operation Atalanta’s flagship, ITS Carabiniere met up with USNS Laramie off the coast of Somalia to replenish fuel and stores.

Prior to the replenishment at sea (RAS), ITS Carabiniere had completed an escort of UN FAO vessel, MV Kestrel, to protect it from any potential pirate attack as it deployed fish aggregating devices, or FADs, along the coastline to help develop fishing grounds for Somali fishermen.

The two-hour RAS required careful and complex co-ordination between the two ships to ensure safe transfer of the fuel and stores.  Conducting a RAS at sea enables Operation Atalanta warships to maintain their counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.