At 1200 GMT, Wednesday April 14, the Italian Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero relinquished command of Task Force 465, the EU Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta. The Swedish Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist took over command and the multinational Force Headquarters will now operate from the EU NAVFOR HSwMS Carlskrona.
"Operation Atalanta is, and will continue to be, a very important operation, foremost from a humanitarian perspective. Our military effort will therefore contribute to generate relief for those who suffer in Somalia and security for seafarers sailing the waters off Somalia," admiral Thörnqvist said.
The new Force Commander continued, "I am very proud to be entrusted with the task of commanding Task Force 465 and confident in doing this important job together with my multinational staff afloat, including the crew onboard Carlskrona, the other EU NAVFOR units and our logistic support in Djibouti."