The offshore patrol vessel ‘Rayo’ concludes her participation in operation ‘Atalanta’

The offshore patrol vessel ‘Rayo’ has just returned to her home port in Las Palmas (Canary Island) after a six-month deployment participating in the EU-led operation ‘Atalanta’ against piracy in Indian Ocean waters.

The welcoming ceremony was presided over by the Canary Islands Naval Commander, Rear-admiral Manuel de la Puente.

The OPV, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Rafael Samaniego, had a complement of 87 people including her own crew, the support personnel of the AB-212 helicopter and members of the Marine Corps security team.

Since her departure back in November 2014, the ship has sailed more than 32,000 nautical miles patrolling the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden protecting the sensitive shipping routes of that area.

Meetings with local leaders and training activities with regional forces

The offshore patrol vessel ‘Rayo’, integrated into operation ‘Atalanta’ arranged several meetings with local authorities and fishermen as part of a series of confidence-building measures intended to explain the mission of this European Union operation in the Horn of Africa. Several regional leaders were invited aboard the patrol boat to strengthen the cooperation with Somali authorities.

The warship also took part in several EUCAP NESTOR-sponsored training activities with naval forces of Somalia, Djibouti, Madagascar and the Seychelles.

The deployment of the ‘Rayo’ is part of Spain’s commitment with the EU to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the coast of Somalia protecting World Food program (WFP) ships, local fishermen and vulnerable shipping routes in the Indian Ocean.

The ‘Rayo’ is the second unit of the ‘Meteoro’-class offshore patrol vessels, also known as maritime action ships (BAM in its Spanish initials).