EU NAVFOR Atalanta - Sweden joining the anti-piracy operation (video)

[tocqueville]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0un_NtBRSfg
(the Swedish interviews at the end have the same content than the ones in English)



Sweden is part of the EU naval operation EUNAVFOR mandated by the UN to protect ships carrying food and other urgent supplies from the UN World Food Program (WFP) against piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.

In March 2009, the Swedish parliament resolved to support the Swedish government resolution that the Swedish Armed Forces should participate in Operation Atalanta from 15 May to 15 September. The naval mission on behalf of EUNAVFOR has been given the code name ME01.

Three Swedish Armed Forces vessels, the corvettes HMS Malmö and HMS Stockholm plus support ship HMS Trossö, with a total of 152 crew and maintenance personnel, are to escort and protect UN food shipments against pirates who seize ships and demand large ransoms to release the crew and cargo.

Each corvette will have a seven man security force to help protect unit personnel and civilians being escorted by the unit. They will also have “approach duties” to board and investigate if necessary, a suspect vessel that approaches a corvette. This security force comprises 8 soldiers and 6 marines from Göteborg Marine Regiment who are specially trained snipers, ordnance disposal commanders, divers or military police. A land-based maintenance and administration unit is based in neighbouring Djibouti.

http://www.mil.se/en/Forces-abroad/Somalia--EUNAVFOR/