Tag: EUNAVFOR

Six suspected pirates on a motor whaler, acting as mother ship, and a skiff have been detained following attacks on a 52,000 tonne container ship and a fishing vessel, during a a 24 hour operation by EUNAVFOR, on 17-18 November, in the Southern Somali Basin.

Condemning the acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, the United Nations Security Council called for a comprehensive response to prevent and minimize such acts and tackle their underlying causes.

The complexities of migration, as a humanitarian challenge, were discussed on Monday, 30 October, at a meeting hosted by the IMO, bringing together representatives of UN agencies, the maritime industry and European Union naval forces.  

In a recent white paper, OBP explores the model of Vessel Protection Detachments, uniformed military personnel embarked on a vessel with explicit approval of the Flag State. Unlike private security actors, VPD operators are trained to follow strict and defined rules of engagement through traditional military chain of command.

On Monday 8 May 2017, the EU’s Ambassador to Somalia hosted the Somali Prime Minister and State Minister, on board EU NAVFOR’s Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, in order to discuss development in Somalia and EU’s efforts to combat piracy.

On April 22, six armed persons in a skiff chased and fired upon a tanker underway, around 5.7 nautical miles East of Somali Coast, Somalia, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre announced. A merchant ship was attacked by armed pirates in a fast-moving skiff, at the same day, according to EU NAVFOR.

An Indian cargo ship, with 11 crew onboard, was boarded and hijacked by pirates, off the coast of Somalia, on April 1st. According to ICC, the vessel is currently inside Somali coastal waters, between Hobyo and El Hur.

EUNAVFOR announced that a crew from Spain’s 11th Squadron, which is usually based in Cadiz, is currently deployed with Operation Atalanta, together with their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Scan Eagle. The drone can be operated during day and night and provides images and video of maritime events in real-time.

As the pirate attack on fuel tanker Aris 13 showed, armed pirates still have the intent and capability to get out to sea to attack vessels. During the past week the EU Naval Force Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, and French frigate, FS Courbet, have conducted combined counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.

EU Naval Force in Somalia and OBP finally confirmed that the fuel tanker Aris 13 and its crew are safe and on their way to safe port after the armed pirates departed the ship.