SPS Patiño ( A14 ) The SPS " Patiño " A14 is a replenishment oiler of the Spanish Navy . It was named after the Spanish navy minister José Patiño Rosales , who reorganized the fleet on the orders of Philip V of Spain . Overview . Design . The " Patiño " is a product of cooperation between Koninklijke Marine and Armada Española . The design of the ship is similar to the HNLMS Amsterdam ( A836 ) of the Dutch Navy , the vessels were developed in cooperation . The " Patiño " was mostly a civilian design . Propulsion . SPS " Patiño " is fitted with two Navantia / Burmeister and Wein 16V40 / 45 diesel engines rated to 17 . 6MW Sustained power . The engines drive a single shaft with a five - blade controllable pitch propeller . Electronics . The " Patiño " is fitted with three navigation - surface search and helicopter control radars operating at I - band . The countermeasures equipment includes : four mk36 SRBOC ( super rapid blooming offboard chaff ) , six - barrelled launchers from Lockheed Martin Sippican der four infrared decoys and chaff , distraction and deflection of incoming anti - ship missiles to a range of 4 km ; an AN / SLQ - 25A Nixie Towed torpedo Decoy system from Argon ST of Newington , Virginia som two Towed units to emit acoustic signals from an onboard transmitter , and an Aldebaran Electronic Support Measures / Electronic Countermeasures ( ESM / ECM ) system from Spain ' s Indra Group . Armament . The SPS " Patiño " ´s weapons system include two Oerlikon 20mm guns and the vessel is fitted for two Izar FABA Systems Meroka 20mm close - in weapon system ( CIWS ) . The guns having a rate of four of 1 . 440 rounds a minute and range of up to 2 . 000 m . The Meroka CIWS includes infrared camera and video auto - tracker . Aircraft . The SPS " Patiño " A14 is designed to carry up to 5 helicopters . It has a normal complement of only three 3 Sikorsky SH - 3 Sea King s . Capabilities . The ships are able to support a fleet of up to 21 days , and is equipped with six fuel pumps with a capacity of 600 cubic meters of fuel per minute . A typical fleet consists of 5 escort carriers and about 20 aircraft . Diesel ( F76 ) ( spread over 16 different tanks ) : 8750 tons Aviation fuel ( F44 ) : 1200 tons ( Holland rebuilt in 2003 a tank to contain F76 ) Freshwater ( 1 tank ) : 142 ton Food ( over 1 tørproviantrum , 1 cold room and freezer 1 ) : 1100 tons Ammunition ( spread over 5 rooms ) : 350 ton Deployments . Operation Sharp Guard , 1996 . The " Patiño " participated in Operation Sharp Guard , to support the trade embargo against the former Yugoslavia . Operation Allied Action , 1998 . In 1998 , SPS " Patiño " participated in Operation Allied Action during the Kosovo War . The " Patiño " has also involved a long series of international exercises such as Joint Warrior and Seattle Mariner and has also sailed as part of SNMG1 and SNMG2 . Operation Enduring Freedom . In 2002 , " Patiño " and the Spanish frigate " Navarra " took part of Operation Enduring Freedom . In December 2002 , the media spotlight directed at the Spanish ships as they boarded the North Korean merchant ship " So San " , which was pretending to be a Colombian trading ship . " So San " , sailed without flag and tried to steer elusive . After four warning shots across the ship ' s bows , Spanish marksmen hit and cut an sling crossing the deck to make room for inserting a boarding team by helicopter . On board the ship the Spanish marines found 15 Scud missiles with conventional warheads of 250 kg , 23 tanks of nitric acid and 85 drums of other chemicals . Yemen stated that the cargo belonged to them and that they protested against the seizure of the ship . It subsequently emerged that the Yemeni defense had purchased the missiles legally from North Korea and that they therefore had no legal authority to detain the ship . The Allies had to let the ship proceed . Somalia , 2010 to Present . The SPS " Patiño " was deployed and operates as part of the European Union ' s Operation Atalanta security mission . The EU force NAVFOR , a multinational mission to protect ships , patrols the region in the perilous shipping route off the coast of Somalia . The " Patino " was the NAVFOR flagship . On 8 December 2010 , SPS " Patiño " arrived off Somalia and became the flagship of the operation under Rear Admiral Juan Rodriguez on 14 December . Her role as the flagship lasted until 21 January 2011 . By the end of November 2011 the vessel returned to the Indian Ocean to take her second tour at Operation Atalanta . As a replenishment ship she supported other vessels of the operation with oil and other supplies and also escorted ships with humanitarian help to Somalia . 12 January Piracy Incident . In the early morning of 12 January 2012 , SPS " Patiño " was attacked by Somali pirates , apparently under the assumption that the ship was just a commercial vessel . The Spanish naval vessel fought off a gun attack by the pirates . SPS " Patiño " then chased by helicopter the attackers and captured six of them while one was reported killed . It had been escorting a ship carrying food aid to Somalia for the World Food Programme .