European Union Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta » Kismaayo

Pirates capture fishing vessel

EU NAVFOR Public Affairs Office — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:30:09 +0000

Early on the morning of 2 October, Somali pirates gained control of the Spanish tuna fishing vessel ALAKRANA, midway between the Seychelles and the Somali port of Kismayo, some 400 miles offshore. The fishing vessel, with a crew of 36, was just two days into an expedition.

Fishing vessels are always at a higher risk of piracy than other ships on the high seas. For this reason, EU NAVFOR has been working closely with the fishing fleets in the region, which are operating outside any territorial waters or Exclusive Economic Zones.

Regular flights by maritime patrol aircraft are conducted, and a number of warships are assigned to patrol the fishing grounds, protecting and reassuring the fishermen. Specialist advisors from the tuna fishing industry are stationed at Northwood to work alongside the military commanders of the operation. At the time of this attack, the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship CANARIAS was in company with a number of tuna fishing vessels.

EU NAVFOR is working very closely with the Spanish authorities, other military forces in the region and the fishing industry to provide assistance in this case and provide continued protection to all legitimate fishermen and seafarers in this vast stretch of troubled waters.

German Ship has been released

EU NAVFOR Public Affairs Office — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:11:54 +0000

The German flagged and owned container vessel, HANSA STAVANGER has been released 3 August.

The 20,000-tonne container vessel, HANSA STAVANGER, was captured about 400 miles off the southern Somali port of Kissmaayo on 4 April.

European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) ships are escorting HANSA STAVANGER to sea.

Crew member nationalities include Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Philippines.

German Container Ship Hijacked

EU NAVFOR Public Affairs Office — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 09:39:07 +0000

A 20,000 tonne German container ship was hijacked early this morning 400 miles from the Somali town of Kismaayo between the Seychelles and the Kenyan coast. The attack was made by 6 men in a single skiff that was probably operating with other pirate vessels. The Op Atalanta warship is en route to the area and will arrive there this afternoon. The 24 man crew is believed to be safe. Shipping has been warned to stay at least 100nm clear of the area as further attacks are likely.

Two Tankers Hijacked in the Somali Basin

EU NAVFOR Public Affairs Office — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:51:53 +0000

Two European owned chemical tankers have been hijacked in the Somali basin in the past 24 hours. A 9,000 tonne Greek owned Panamanian registered vessel with its 19 crew was attacked approximately 450 miles east of Kismaayo yesterday afternoon. The 23,000 tonne Norwegian owned and Bahamian registered vessel and its 27 crew was also captured 250 miles east of Kismaayo this morning. An alert has been posted on the MSCHOA site notifying all vessels in this area to be aware of this increase in pirate activity.