The patrol vessel ‘Alborán’ set sail from Cartagena to take part in the 2014 North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) campaign

The offshore patrol vessel ‘Alborán’ has just departed from her home port in Cartagena towards Newfoundland (Canada) to participate in the protection of NAFO’s fishing grounds.

Spain collaborates in this seasonal campaign providing ships to the European Union to carry out monitoring and surveillance tasks in those fishing grounds. The vessel is also tasked with the mission of providing assistance to the trawlers, when so requested.

The ‘Alborán’ will integrate into the NAFO campaign for a month and a half. The patrol vessel will return to her home port in Cartagena on October 24th.

With a crew of 37 people plus a medical doctor, the patrol boat ‘Alborán’ belongs to the Maritime Action Force with home base in Cartagena (Murcia). For this specific campaign, NAFO inspectors and EFCA (European Fisheries Control Agency) coordinators will also embark in two rotations.

During this deployment, two ports of call have been scheduled for crew rest and embarkation of inspectors: Punta Delgada (Azores) and Saint John’s (Canada).