Greek frigate here on anti-piracy mission |02 March 2010

In an interview with Nation yesterday on board the warship at the New Port, its commanding officer Georgios Floros said they must watch out for possible attacks by pirates on merchant ships or other vulnerable vessels that have to pass through this area of the Indian Ocean.

He said he and the crew of the Salamis (F-455) are very happy to be here – the first time for this frigate but the fourth time a Greek warship has visited Seychelles. On its way here it also stopped in Kenya, Oman and Djibouti.

“Piracy is a great problem for the global maritime community, and this is one of the main reasons why the European Union decided to start an operation to try to eliminate the threat,” said Commander Floros.

He added that Greece was among the first countries to respond to the EU’s call to tackle the threat through the Navfor naval taskforce. 

“In February ministers of defence of the EU agreed that from the end of March they will expand the objectives of their Atalanta operation,” he said.

This will include controlling the Somali ports where pirates are based, as well as neutralising mother ships that allow the pirates to operate over 1,000km from the coast.

The EU and all its partners are very determined to eradicate acts of piracy, he added.

The Salamis has been in port since Friday and will leave tomorrow morning. The multipurpose frigate has been designed to support anti-aircraft and anti-submarine operations, as well as surface warfare.

It gives naval gunfire support during amphibious operations and carries out electronic warfare, sea surveillance, command, control, communication and intelligence tasks.

The Salamis is equipped with surveillance radar and also carries a helicopter.
Commander Floros is expected to visit the Seychelles Coast Guard base today.