EU NAVFOR warship FS Gueprat helping the fishing dhow Mahara

Yesterday evening EU NAVFOR warship FS Guepratte stopped to assist Yemenite fisher men in distress. Now she has been towing the Yemenite fishing vessel all night and awaits relief from Omani authorities.

In the afternoon yesterday, Friday 28 may, the EU NAVFOR warship FS Guepratte approached a Yemeni fishing dhow, with six persons on board, in distress at sea. The dhow seemed to have engine problems and had been drifting for seven days. It was established that she had lost her propeller, which made repair at sea impossible. Naturally, Guepratte offered towing assistance.

Both Yemenite and Omani coast guard and Omani Navy have been contacted. Since EU NAVFOR warship FS Guepratte is tasked for patrolling the transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden, a relief would be welcome. EU NAVFOR warship FS Guepratte has been towing the Yemenite fishing dhow Mahara since Friday night at 18.45 hours.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme (WFP) and vessels of  African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM and to protect vulnerable vessels in the Gulf  of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

Picture Gallery:

The merchant vessels Dream-H (left) and Rozen (near right), sailing for UN World Food Programme with humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons in Somalia, was escorted by EU NAVFOR flag ship HSwMS Carlskrona

The merchant vessels Rozen and Dream-H, sailing for UN World Food Programme with humanitarian aid to displaced persons in Somalia, are now safely delivered to Mogadishu after being escorted by EU NAVFOR Swedish flag ship HSwMS Carlskrona.

The flag ship of EU NAVFOR is not only carrying the Force Headquarters, she is also an Ocean Patrol Vessel with a helicopter and a boarding team in addition to own armament. During her first month in the Operation Atalanta she has solved all the different tasks that are normally performed by the units in the force; escorts, patrolling the internationally recommended transit corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden, carrying out surveillance outside the Somali coast and boarding suspected vessels. Last week, she escorted ships for World Food Programme (WFP) and AMISOM, the tasks that are the number one and two on the priority list for EU NAVFOR.

Her latest escort protecting MV Rozen and MV Dream-H loaded with WFP humanitarian aid was a golden opportunity for the Carlskrona boarding team to practice boarding and searching the vessels. This was performed in cooperation with the captains of the merchant vessels.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme (WFP) and vessels of  African Unions Mission in Somalia, AMISOM and to protect vulnerable vessels in the Gulf  of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

EU NAVFOR Greek warship HS ELLI

This morning 4 May, a Super Auk 12 helicopter from the Japanese Task Force reported a suspicious skiff with seven persons on board just outside the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) approximately 50 miles south of Al Mukalla, Yemen.
 
The Japanese Task Force was escorting a Convoy through the IRTC when it detected a suspicious skiff and informed the EU NAVFOR Greek warship HS ELLI of its position. HS ELLI closed the skiff which, despite warning shots from ELLI, refused to stop. The skiff conducted evading manoeuvres and tried to flee so ELLI used her main gun which had the effect of stopping the skiff and the persons on board surrendered. During the chase, the skiff’s crew were seen to throw material over board. Personnel from ELLI have now boarded the skiff and after a final investigation, the skiff was released.
 
This unprecedented cooperation between coalition forces strengthens the anti piracy forces ability to combat piracy.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM and to protect vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

The hijacking took place approximately 120 nautical miles off the coast of Oman and 180 miles south of Mazera. MV TALCA was heading from Sokhna in Egypt to Busheir in Iran. It had already passed through the International Recommended Transit Corridor, which is patrolled by warships and maritime patrol aircraft from EU NAVFOR, NATO, Combined Maritime Forces and other navies. Twenty-three of the crew are from Sri Lanka, one from the Philippines and one from Syria. MV TALCA has dead weight of 11 055 tonnes. EU NAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation.

Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

FGS EMDEN towing Dhow towards Yemen

On 19th February the EU NAVFOR German warship FGS Emden was tasked to investigate a dhow and a skiff acting strangely in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).

It was noticed that the dhow was “dead in the water” and had not moved for some time. An investigation team from Emden boarded the dhow and confirmed that it had been abandoned by the crew who had taken off in the fishing skiff. The engine on the dhow was unserviceable and it was decided to take it in tow and out of international waters as a safety precaution to other ships in the area.

The EU Force Headquarters onboard the Italian warship ITS ETNA, contacted the owner of the dhow and arranged to return it on the evening of the 20th February. The dhow was towed towards Yemeni territorial waters near the town of Ash Shihr and handed over to a grateful owner.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EUNAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.
Picture gallery:

Suspected pirates

Recent photographic evidence from anti piracy coalition forces show that pirates continue to roam the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in search of prey.

Earlier today a coalition helicopter photographed suspicious skiff activity in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of the IRTC and other suspicious activity has been witnessed by EU NAVFOR units.

An alert has been issued to all ships in the area and Masters of merchant vessels have been warned to keep a good lookout and adopt best management practice (BMP) when transiting through the area in accordance with the Maritime Security Centre (Horn of Africa) MSCHOA website www.mschoa.org.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EUNAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

M/V Ariella

Early on the morning of 5 Feb 2010, the M/V ARIELLA came under attack from Somali pirates who were able to get onboard and attempted to take control of the ship.

The ARIELLA was sailing in a “Group Transit” within the International Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) under the protection of Coalition navies. An alert went out, picked up from an Indian Warship TABAR who sent out a general message on the Mercury communication system. An EU NAVFOR French Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) was quickly on the scene and confirmed a sighting of armed pirates on the deck of the ARIELLA. The MPA made contact with Battle Watch Officers from the NATO Danish Warship ABSALON from CTF 508.

The NATO ship ensured that the crew onboard were safe before the decision was made to send in the specialist teams.  At the same time as NATO ship ABSALON boarded ARIELLA, sailors from the Russian Navy ship Neustrashimyy who was operating nearby, successfully boarded and detained a second pirate skiff. The ongoing co-operation between the maritime partners, the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) and NATO Combined Maritime Force 151 (CMF 151), together with maritime nations, such as the Russian and Indian navies led to the successful release of M/V ARIELLA.

M/V ARIELLA is an Antigua and Barbuda Flagged vessel owned by Splosna Plovba, International Shipping and Chartering Ltd, Slovenia. She has a crew of 25 and the nationalities are 1 Bulgarian, 15 Filipino, 1 Slovakian, 1 Indian and 7 Ukrainian and they are all safe. The ship was registered with MSC HOA, was in contact with UKMTO and was part of a Group Transit when she was attacked.

EU NAVFOR strongly recommends that all vessels that transit through the high risk areas, namely Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and Indian Ocean implement their ships security plan that follows all guidance and advice that is set out and contained in Best Management Practices (BMP). Reference should be made to MSC HOA website www.mschoa.org.

EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

The RIM was in the North West area of the Gulf of Aden just south of the Yemeni coast. The Coaster is a general cargo ship of 4,800 tonnes, North Korean flagged and owned by White Sea Shipping of Libya. A coalition ship USS PORTER that works closely with EU NAVFOR and a helicopter from USS FARRAGUT, both of CMF CTF 151, confirmed that the RIM had been hijacked.

There are no reports of the composition or nationalities of the M/V RIM that has now altered course and is heading towards the Somali Basin. Coalition forces will now monitor the situation.

EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

FGS BREMEN boarding a skiff

On the morning of Saturday 23rd of January, EU NAVFOR Warship BREMEN boarded a skiff inside IRTC.

The skiff was detected by a helicopter from the Japanese Navy, during a routine anti piracy patrol in the area, and reported its presence to the EU Warship. Due to the proximity of a convoy of merchant vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden, the skiff was intercepted and boarded. Nothing suspicious was found on board and the skiff was released. Unprecedented cooperation between international navies and different task forces in the region show how piracy is being combatted.

EU NAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden in order to deter and disrupt piracy.

ITS ETNA Refuelling Pakistan Navy Frigate PNS KHAIBAR

While patrolling in the Gulf Of Aden, EU NAVFOR Flagship ITS ETNA, with COMEUNAVFOR RAdm Giovanni Gumiero embarked, provided the Pakistan Navy Frigate PNS KHAIBAR with fuel and water, thus enhancing the spirit of cooperation among coalition Naval forces operating on anti piracy patrol in the gulf of Aden.

On the early morning of 20th of January, PNS KHAIBAR approached EU NAVFOR ITS ETNA on her port side, while proceeding on a steady course and speed, applying all standard procedures used in a Refuelling At Sea (RAS) Operation. After the preliminary warning whistles sounded by the boatswain, all the hoses and equipment were passed to the Pakistani Warship and the RAS was conducted successfully and smoothly.

Pakistan is contributing to the fight against piracy with a Frigate patrolling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden, serving under the Command of CTF 151 (US-led anti piracy coalition Task Force).

EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

Picture Gallery: