World Food Program News

The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as "good news for the world," a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.The flow of ships through the corridor had been grinding to a halt during the last few days with the deal set to expire on Thursday."The continuation is good news for the world…

The Kremlin on Wednesday said the outlook for the landmark U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal was not great as promises to remove obstacles to Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled.The grain deal is an attempt to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has been made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.The agreement was first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in July last year and has twice been extended.On paper…

Ships brought grain from Ukrainian ports on Monday, suggesting Moscow had stopped short of reimposing a blockade that might have caused world hunger, despite suspending its participation in a U.N. program to safely export grain from the war zone.Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine and explosions rang out in Kyiv, sending black smoke into the sky as Russia rained missiles down in renewed air attacks. Ukrainian officials said energy infrastructure was hit including at hydro-electric dams…

The third vessel charted by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), left Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Black Sea port with around 30,000 tonnes of wheat on board, Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said on Saturday.“The vessel is headed for Ethiopia. According to UN estimates, Ethiopia is on the verge of a food crisis,” the ministry said in a statement.It said that in partnership with the WFP, three ships loaded with more than 90,000 tonnes of wheat are on their way to Ethiopia and Yemen.“We plan to export another 190,000 tonnes, which are currently being purchased by U.N.

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa on Monday under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.But there are many hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, which handle most of the corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seed and rapeseed exports of one of the world's top grain suppliers.Here are some…

A team of Italian specialist Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers carried out mine-countermeasures training on Friday, April 13, to prepare for potential threats that may affect international shipping and delay essential sea cargoes.As part of the training, the EOD divers from Italian Navy Frigate ITS Margottini put a floating ‘dummy’ mine into the sea and then carried out a controlled explosion.ITS Margottini is currently deployed on counter-piracy operations as part of EU NAVFOR’s Op Atalanta.

The European Council has extended Operation Atalanta’s mandate to deter, disrupt and repress acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia through December 31, 2018. Operation Atalanta’s two-year mandate extension, enacted on November 25, 2016, comes amidst concerns within European Union Member States that whilst pirate attacks on merchant ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are currently suppressed, pirates still have the intent and capability to go out to sea and mount an attack.

After three months of operating with the European Union Naval Force, a maritime protection team from Serbia handed over its World Food Program (WFP) vessel protection duties to Croatia. The handover ceremony took place on December 28, 2014, in Djibouti. The Serbian team has spent the past three months embarked in WFP vessel, MV MSM Douro, providing protection at sea from pirate attacks along the Somali coast. Members of the Croatian Forces will be embarked in MV MSM Douro for up to four months. Since the EU Naval Force began protecting WFP vessels in 2009, none have been attacked or pirated.

President Barack Obama appointed a former White House adviser as U.S. Ebola "czar" on Friday as the global death toll from the disease that has hit mostly three West African countries rose to more than 4,500. Amid growing concerns about the spread of the virus in the United States, authorities said a Texas health worker who may have had contact with specimens from an Ebola patient was quarantined on a cruise ship. Obama, facing criticism from some lawmakers over his administration's handling of efforts to contain the virus…

On Monday, February 24, European Union counter-piracy operation Atalanta and EUCAP Nestor, the civilian-led Maritime Security Capacity building EU Mission, hosted two training sessions for Tanzanian Maritime Police and Navy in Dar es Salaam to share knowledge and experiences in fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean region. The practical trainings held on board the EU Naval Force flagship, FS Siroco, were carried out by experienced trainers and dealt with typical piracy related situations.

On January 18, 2014, the French EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta flagship FS Siroco in cooperation with Japanese assets released the crew of a Dhow that was suspected to have been used as pirate mother-ship. The flagship apprehended five suspected pirates believed to be responsible for an attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden a day earlier. The oil tanker issued a distress call to the UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) on the evening of Friday, January 17, reporting to be under attack.

On Wednesday, December 11, Spanish EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) ship ESPS Tornado completed a three-day escort of a World Food Program (WFP) chartered vessel. The WFP ship was escorted by ESPS Tornado from Mombasa to the port of Kismayo in Somalia. During the escort, members of the Spanish Navy crew remained on constant look-out, with the ship’s helicopter ready to launch at short notice to help deter any pirate attack. During the first day of the escort, ESPS Tornado’s Executive Officer and the Boarding Officer visited the WFP vessel to meet the ship’s captain and his crew.

Attendees at the IQPC Offshore Patrol Vessels Middle East 2013 conference agree that what happens at sea in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East has implications that ripple, or more correctly rumble throughout the globe. Speakers and panelists underscored the importance of maritime domain awareness and security for military, commercial, legal and environmental reasons, and how they are all connected. The IQPC Offshore Patrol Vessel conference at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi is being attended by naval, coast guard, security, and other maritime and military professionals.

HMAS Tobruk has completed its mission in the Philippines and is returning to Australia with a load of Army engineer machinery, vehicles and 35 Army personnel. A small Recovery Support Force of 65 combat engineers, tradesmen and support personnel, mostly from Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, will remain in Ormoc for a further week to continue clean-up and repair tasks coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Government. Commander of Joint Task Force 630 Lieutenant Colonel Rod Lang said the departing engineers and HMAS Tobruk’s crew had achieved their mission to help with the Philippines’ recovery.

Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) multi-purpose vessels in Manila were dispatched on Thursday, October 17 in the Province of Bohol to transport various relief items for the affected locals following the magnitude 7.2 killer earthquake that rocked the Central Visayas region last Tuesday. PCG vice commandant for operations Rear Admiral Luis Tuason Jr. said that buoy tender ship BRP-Corregidor (AE-891) and the 35-meter search and rescue vessel BRP-Romblon (SARV-3502) are heading to Bohol on Wednesday to deliver the more than 10,000 sacks of family food packs provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in cooperation with US AID and World Food Program for the families and residents affected by the said quake.

On 26 September, the Seychelles Peoples Defense Force, Coast Guard and Air Force, together with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta and EUCAP Nestor, carried out a search and rescue exercise in Seychelles waters. The operation was coordinated centrally by the Seychelles Coast Guard Maritime Operation Center and held in conjunction with the port visit of the Dutch EU NAVFOR flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt, to the Seychelles. The EUCAP Nestor team in the Seychelles worked closely with the Coast Guard on the exercise and facilitated the liaison with EU NAVFOR.

Commodore Peter Lenselink and members of his staff visited German frigate FGS Niedersachsen, which is currently part of the EU's counter piracy task force off the coast of Somalia. During his visit, Commodore Lenselink visited the different departments on board and met members of the ship's staff. The Force Commander was given a briefing on the capabilities of the Bremen Class frigate and the German Boarding Team carried out a helicopter fast-roping demonstration. Speaking during the visit, the Commanding Officer of FGS Niedersachsen, Commander Kurt Leonard said, "Over the years, The Netherlands and Germany have had close relations as neighbors and our navies have worked together on many operational deployments.

Since April 2013, the Jeanne d'Arc group, composed of the Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Tonnerre, the Antisubmarine Frigate (ASF) Georges Leygues, the Light Surveillance Frigate (LSF) Nivôse, and the Off-Shore Patrol Vessel (OSV) Adroitare, have been engaged in the European operation against piracy christened Atalanta. The French ships and the four Swedish, German, Spanish and Dutch ships are deployed under the authority of European military staff aboard the Portuguese Guided Missile Frigate NRP Alvares Cabral.

Even with a multi-national flotilla of warships, armed security guards on merchant ships, and phalanxes of lawyers making policy and negotiating ransoms, seemingly unsophisticated Somalis and their small, simple skiffs still attack ships on the high seas and hold seafarers, ships and cargos for ever-growing sums of money. Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, a retired naval officer, had a front row seat in the effort to deter and defend against piracy on the high seas. McKnight, who with Michael Hirsh wrote Pirate Alley – Commanding Task Force 151 Off Somalia…

EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Dutch frigate Van Amstel rendezvoused at sea with World Food Programme (WFP) chartered ship MV Caroline Scan to re-supply the Dutch protection team onboard – known as an Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment or AVPD . The Dutch AVPD, which consists of armed marines and a medical team,  protects the humanitarian food of the WFP as it transits the waters off the Somali coast. The AVPD sails under the flag of the European Union counter piracy mission – Operation Atalanta.

One of Portugal's largest warships, the Vasco de Gama Class frigate NRP Corte Real added its name to the list of ships (EUNAVFOR) operating in the Horn of Africa sea area. The new addition to the fleet will mount counter-piracy operations, with a view to protecting WFP aid shipments to Somalia. Commissioned into the Portuguese navy in 1990 the Corte Real is no stranger to the Horn of Africa, having previously worked to prevent piracy under the 'OCEAN SHIELD' NATO Operation.

At first light on 12 January 2012, having just completed the escort of a World Food Programme ship carrying food-aid into Somalia and while operating close to the Somali port of Mogadishu, the EU NAVFOR Flagship, the ESPS PATINO, was approached by one skiff with a group of suspected pirates onboard. The suspected pirates opened fire with light calibre weapons and tried to board the PATINO. The ship’s force-protection team returned fire in self-defense and the ship’s helicopter was launched.

On April 14, in a ceremony held at the Commercial Port of Djibouti, Portuguese Commodore Alberto Correia took over the command of Task Force 465 (TF 465) as the new European Union Naval Force Headquarters – Operation ATALANTA Force Commander. Commodore Correia takes over the duty from his predecessor, Spanish Rear Admiral Juan Rodriguez. During the handover, presided over by EU NAVFOR Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral Guido Rando, Commodore Correia congratulated Rear Admiral Rodriguez for the results achieved during his command and thanked him for his outstanding efforts. He emphasized that ”The mission priorities given to TF 465 are absolutely clear to me.