EU warship escorts UN food supplies to Somalia

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

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NAIROBI -- The EU naval force said Wednesday that it successfully escorted a UN World Food Program (WFP) chartered vessel carrying humanitarian supplies to Somalia from Kenya.

The anti-piracy taskforce said its Germany EU Naval Force ship, FGS Lubeck, safely escorted the WFP vessel from Mombasa to the port city of Kismayo in southern Somalia.

"After rendezvousing outside the port of Mombasa, crew members from FGS Lubeck went on board the WFP vessel for a pre-voyage brief with the master of the vessel. It involved the setup and testing of communications and confirmation of response procedures in case of a pirate attack," said the naval force.

The aid will be distributed to the Somali people soon.

The UN food agency has delivered over 100 shipments to the Horn of Africa despite lack of protection and piracy incidents in Somali waters.

Several governments have provided naval escorts for ships carrying food aid since November 2007 to troubled Somalia. Since then, no ship carrying WFP supplies has seen pirate attacks.

The EU Naval Force warships are also providing protection to the UN chartered vessels supplying the African Union Mission to Somalia, which is supporting the transitional Somali government to stabilize the lawless nation.

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