The Spanish Navy starts October with an intense schedule of national and international activities

More than 2,100 military men and women are currently sailing or are deployed away from their bases.

These operations are under operational command of the Defense Staff and operational control of the Operations Command.

From the Gulf of Guinea to the Indian Ocean, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean or in countries such as Mali, the Spanish Navy maintains its global presence at the beginning of the month of October with 21 ships at sea and 2,154 servicemen sailing or deployed away from their bases.

Frigate ‘Méndez Núñez’ continues in the Pacific Ocean, currently in Fiji, commemorating, among other activities, the first circumnavigation of the globe, contributing also to the Defense Diplomacy plan and supporting the National Defense Industry.

Frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ is integrated into the Standing NATO Maritime Group number 2 (SNMG-2). After an initial visit to the French port of Toulon, the ship sails now towards the Gulf of Cádiz where she will participate in the multinational exercise ‘Dynamic Mariner-19’.

Two warships are now deployed in waters of the Mediterranean Sea: the frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’, which has participated in the exercise ‘Eagle Eye 19/03’, an exercise designed to improve the defense of our national airspace, and the minehunter ‘Sella’, currently deployed with NATO’s standing MCM (mine countermeasures) Group.

Since last August frigate ‘Canarias’ has been integrated into the counter-piracy Operation ‘ATALANTA’ in the Indian Ocean. She has currently pulled into Mombasa (Kenya) for a logistic port of call.

The OPV ‘Atalaya’ is in the Gulf of Guinea, cooperating with the countries of the area in the development of their capabilities and contributing to enhance maritime security in the region. This deployment also supports the Defense Diplomacy Plan, a series of activities based on dialogue and cooperation, organized by the Ministry of Defense at a bilateral level with allied countries and partners of Spain in that area.

Since last May, and in the final stretch of its deployment, a Marine Corps Expeditionary Force has been operating in Mali, participating in the EUTM-MALI mission of the European Union, supporting and advising the Malian Armed Forces.