On December 28, the Italian frigate ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591) was integrated into the framework of the EU Atalanta operation, and we tracked its first mission executed at the beginning of the year, during which it escorted some cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden.
Unexpectedly, today it was announced that a second Italian frigate, the ITS Federico Martinengo (F 596), has joined the Atalanta operation as an associated support.
#OperationAtalanta welcomes Italian ship ITS MARTINENGO in Associated Support.
— EUNAVFOR (@EUNAVFOR) January 9, 2024
🔎 ITS MARTINENGO is the first unit of the @ItalianNavy to bear the name of Rear Admiral Federico Martinengo, the hero decorated with the Gold Medal for military value.@eu_eeas#GoFurtherTogether pic.twitter.com/AnkvTcplgu
Therefore, there are now two Italian ships operating in the area, which has recently become particularly tense due to repeated attacks by the Houthi rebels against merchant traffic passing through the Red Sea.