Atalanta's Operation Commander, Major General Rob Magowan, and the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim have met to discuss the current maritime security situation off the Horn of Africa.
The meeting took place 6 October at the IMO headquarters in London. The two leaders agreed that Somali-based piracy continues to represent a threat to international shipping, and agreed that there was no room for complacency.
Mr Lim welcomed the intended extension of Operation Atalanta counter-piracy mandate to the end of 2018 and it was jointly recognised that continued self-protection on board merchant ships, combined with the naval deterrence is essential to avoid any possible resurgence of pirate attacks against vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
