Tag: EUNAVFOR

Filter By:

Filter

EU NAVFOR French warship NIVÔSE disrupts another pirate attack group

A Dhow was suspected of being used as a Pirate Action Group mothership During the afternoon of the 13 May, the EU NAVFOR French warship FS NIVÔSE disrupted a Dhow that was suspected of being used as a Pirate Action Group (PAG) mothership since it was pirated over a year ago.The Dhow, which is suspected of having carried out several recent attacks in the Arabian Sea and which still has her original crew on board as hostages, was spotted by an EU NAVFOR German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) earlier the same day. Once identified, the Dhow was tracked by the MPRA which guided the FS NIVOSE into position.In the morning of 13 May, the French warship and her helicopter approached the suspected pirate dhow and ordered her to stop. During the approach, several weapons and two attack skiffs were seen on board the Dhow.As she was considered to pose a very real threat to merchant shipping in the area and after several verbal warnings, the FS NIVOSE was forced to fire warning shots at the Dhow in an attempt to get her to comply. The warning shots were also ignored but the Dhow changed course back toward Somalia.Concerns for ...

Read more

Minister of United Kingdom for Armed Forces visited Eu Navfor

Discussion on counter piracy missions On 4 May, the United Kingdom Minister of Armed Forces (Min AF),Nick Harvey MP visited the Operational Headquarters in Northwood, London.Accompanying Minister Harvey were Henry Bellingham MP, Minister of Africa in the Foreign Office and Mike Penning MP, Minister of Shipping in the Department of Transport.The party received an Intelligence update, covering Piracy Threat and Evolution before going onto a round table discussion on Counter Piracy Missions, Military/Industri Activity and Co-operation.On completion of the discussions, the party received a tour of the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) and the Maritime Security Centre, Horn of Africa (MSCHOA).Throughout the visit the ministers were hosted by the Operation Commander, Major General Buster Howes, his Chief of Staff Colonel Richard Spencer and Policy Adviser Mrs Joanne Hamer.Source: EU NAVFOR

Read more

French Guepratte disrupts pirate action group

It avoided highly probable attacks on merchant and vulnerable vessels On 22 April, the EU NAVFOR French warship FS GUÉPRATTE was tasked to patrol the East coast of Somalia as part of her counter-piracy duties on Operation ATALANTA.During this patrol her helicopter spotted a boat heading east. The photographs revealed the vessel to be a fishing dhow that had been pirated over a year ago and which was suspected of being used as a mother ship for Pirate Action Groups (PAG).The vessel was carrying a fast attack skiff (used to attack merchant vessels) on her deck and was seen to have Rocket Propelled Grenades and small arms on board. She was suspected of carrying out a number of attacks on merchant vessels and had been used to resupply other pirate vessels in recent months.F/S Guepratte tracked the Dhow from a few miles away and monitored here activity until the next morning. At dawn on 23rd April, the French warship and her helicopter closed with the suspect vessel in attempt to stop her escaping to sea and posing a real threat to merchant vessels in the area. The dhow immediately altered its course and fled westwards back towards Somalia. The frigate ...

Read more

MV SINAR KUDUS released from Pirate Control

46 days in captivity On the 1 May, theBulk Cargo Carrier the MV SINAR KUDUS was released from pirate control after 46 days in captivity.The MV SINAR KUDUS, which is Indonesian flagged and owned, was on its way to Suez (Egypt) from Singapore when it was attacked on the 16th March 2011.The ship is now sailing to a safe port.Source: EU NAVFOR

Read more

MV GEMINI pirated off the coast of Kenya

25 personnel on board On 30 April, the product tanker MV GEMINI was pirated approximately 180 NM East of Malindi, Kenya.The 20,989 tonne, Singaporian flagged and owned vessel was on its way to Mombasa (Kenya) from Kuala Tanjung (Malaysia) when it was attacked.The MV GEMINI has a crew of 25 (4 Korean, 13 Indonesians, 3 Mayanmar, 5 Chinese). There is no further information about the crew at present.The MV GEMINI was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to UKMTO.EUNAVFOR are continuing to monitor the situation.Source: EU NAVFOR

Read more

Somali pirates release bulk cargo vessel

Carrying 24 crew members Somali pirates on Saturday released a Panama-flagged vessel carrying two dozen Filipino crew members, the Filipino government confirmed on Tuesday.The MV Renuar, a Panama-flagged and Liberian-owned bulk cargo vessel, was hijacked on December 11, 2010, about 1,050 nautical miles (1,944 kilometers) east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl, or about 550 nautical miles (1,018 kilometers) from the coast of India.The vessel was en-route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates from Port Louis in Mauritius when it was taken over by a group of Somali pirates, who have together hijacked hundreds of vessels in recent years."The attack was launched from two attack skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel," EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) spokesman Per Klingvall said in December. "Since the attack, the pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading West towards the Somali Coast."The crew of 24, all whom are Filipino, had tried to evade the pirate attack for a while, but failed. Eventually, after several attempts, the pirates were able to board the vessel and take over the ship.A statement from the Department of ...

Read more

FS GUEPRATTE conducts cross training with the UNODC

Pirate transfer from an EU NAVFOR French navy unit to Kenyan authorities During her port visit to Mombasa on the 11th April, EU NAVFOR warship FS GUEPRATTE welcomed a Kenyan delegation on board.This visit was organized by the UN Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) who are deeply involved in the pirates transfer agreement process with East Africa, Seychelles and now Mauritius.The UNODC finances judicial establishments and courtrooms in Mombasa, as well as jails in Somaliland and Puntland. The delegation was represented by the Crime Investigation Department regional head as well as some home department and department of justice local representatives. They were accompanied by a British instructor from the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) mandated by the UNODC.The aim of this day was to highlight the key points of a suspected pirate transfer from an EU NAVFOR French navy unit to Kenyan authorities, in order to provide a fully legal, precise and indisputable dossier.The Kenyan delegation arrived on board in the morning and attended the operation officer and legal adviser conference. They described the chronology of a suspected pirate apprehension operation and the evidence process until their transfer to foreign authorities, such as Kenya.After the meeting, the delegation had ...

Read more
Page 27 of 30 1 26 27 28 30