New Serbian Vessel Protection Detachment in Operation Atalanta
Sunday, 20.6.2021 | Multinational Operations
The Serbian Armed Forces team consisting of members of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade has been sent to the EU NAVFOR’s area of operations, where it will be involved in the protection of a World Food Programme (WFP) vessel until the second half of October.
The 72nd Special Operations Brigade’s twelve-member team will provide protection to a ship delivering humanitarian aid off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Their task is to deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy.
This is the eighth Serbian Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) to participate in the European Union's counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, which was launched in response to the increased number of pirate attacks and serious threats to the safety of navigation off the Horn of Africa.
A send-off ceremony for the Serbian AVPD team was held at the “Rastko Nemanjić“ barracks in Pančevo where the Commander of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, Brigadier General Miroslav Talijan, handed over the flag of the Republic of Serbia to the detachment commander.
The Serbian Armed Forces have participated in Operation Atalanta since April 2012, by deploying staff officers on ships in the Indian Ocean and in the Operations Headquarters on the mainland, and since December 2013 by periodically deploying Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachments.
