The Maritime Action Ship (BAM) ‘Rayo’ set sail from Cartagena to take part in Operation ‘Atalanta’

The Maritime Action Ship ‘Rayo’ with home port in Las Palmas (Canary Islands) left Cartagena (Murcia) to participate in Operation ‘Atalanta’ which fights piracy in the Indian Ocean.

This ship is the second of her class to deploy in the Indian Ocean as part of the Spanish commitment with this EU mission which started in 2008 to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, and protect commercial shipping and trawlers working in the area.

Once her deployment concludes, the ‘Rayo’ will visit several African countries between May and July: Tanzania, Mozambique, South-Africa, Namibia, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Cape Verde.

The Spanish Navy participates in this initiative sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Defense Policy Secretariat. It includes a series of activities in Western Africa and the Gulf of Guinea to contribute to the Defense Diplomacy Plan.

The ship will be more than five months out of base.

The offshore patrol boat ‘Rayo’ is the second unit of the ‘Meteoro’-class and is under the command of Lt-Cdr Rafael Hernández Rodríguez.

The ship was delivered to the Spanish Navy on May 14th last year, and has a complement of 84 people, including her own crew, support personnel of the AB-212 helicopter and a Marine Corps Team.