EU NAVFOR Spanish Warship NAVARRA Completes WFP Escort

ESPS Navarra escorting WFP dhow

From 26th of February to 1st of March, EU NAVFOR Warship ESPS NAVARRA successfully completed the escort on WFP Chartered vessel FAIZE SULTANE KWHAJA from Salalah Port (Oman) to Boosaaso, in the northern Somali coast.

The dhow-type vessel chartered by the World Food Program Office in NAIROBI (Kenya) carried 35 tons of humanitarian aid in support of UN famine relief of Somali displaced persons. This is the first time the Indian flagged dhow is escorted by a EU NAVFOR Warship. FAIZE SULTANE KWHAJA is a 558 gross tonnage dhow, a type of cargo vessel which is very common to come across in these waters. The 35 tons of humanitarian aid that safely got to destination was mainly promalein oil enriched in vitamins A and D, a Canadian contribution to the UN World Food Program project in Somalia.

Both ships sailed together across the Gulf of Aden, transiting some areas where the merchant vessel community experienced many attacks from Somali pirates. ESPS NAVARRA maintained a sharp look out at close distance that allowed her to manoeuvre rapidly to protect the vessel, the cargo and the crew. After three days of escort, the WFP vessel reached his destination and entered safely the port of Boosaaso.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

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