EU NAVFOR Spanish warship SPS Victoria

Today at 1010 local time, the hijacked Libyan owned merchant vessel RIM reported that the crew had successfully retaken control of the ship.  One of the crew members was seriously injured during the incident.

The incident took place south east of Garacad, off Somalia’s northern coastline.  The closest EU NAVFOR warship, the SPS VICTORIA, was immediately tasked by the Force Commander Jan Thörnqvist, to meet up with MV RIM in order give medical assistance. SPS VICTORIA launched her helicopter immediately.

Confusing reports that the ship had been pirated again came prior to the helicopter reaching the scene of the incident.  It was quickly established that the crew were in control of the vessel.  There were however, pirates in the vicinity who were attempting to impede the EU NAVFOR operation by utilising another hijacked vessel the MV VOC DAISY. When SPS VICTORIA’s helicopter approached the MV VOC DAISY she changed her course – no warning shots were fired.

It is believed that some of the pirates were killed during the incident; the ship is now under the control of the crew.

EU NAVFOR is monitoring the situation and more information will be released as it becomes available.

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.

EU NAVFOR Spanish warship Victoria

The EU NAVFOR warship ESPS VICTORIA yesterday intercepted a pirate action group (PAG) comprising one mother ship, a “Whaler”, and two skiffs.

The suspected pirates were detected by the frigate’s helicopter 40 miles from the Somali coast north west of the Seychelles. The helicopter crew saw that the mother ship was carrying a large number of fuel drums, and also the normal paraphernalia for hijacking ships (ladders, hooks, etc); there was no fishing gear on board.

EU NAVFOR warship closed the PAG position and, following the orders of the EU NAVFOR Force Commander Jan Thörnqvist, a search was conducted with no opposition from the pirates. The boarding party confirmed the suspicions that these vessels were being used with the intent to carry out acts of piracy.
All the suspects were then put into one of the skiffs and given the necessary equipment to reach the Somali coast. Victoria then proceeded to destroy the other 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 for 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 German owned and managed bulk carrier, MV VICTORIA, has been released on the morning of 18 July. The Barbados and Antigua flagged ship was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden approximately 120 nautical miles north of Boosaaso in Somalia 5 May.

European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) ships BRANDENBURG and NIKIFOROS FOKAS assisted the ship heading north. The master of MV VICTORIA has reported to the EU NAVFOR ship BRANDENBURG, that all crew members are well and no further medical assistance is required.

EU NAVFOR is now monitoring the vicinity with a Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The captured pirate skiff

Events in the Gulf of Aden took an unexpected turn this weekend when the German Naval Tanker FGS SPESSART, that is currently attached to EU NAVFOR from NATO, was attacked 85 miles north of Bosasso yesterday afternoon.

The attacking skiff fled after the warship returned small arms fire and then gave chase with helicopter support from the nearby Dutch NATO warship HNLMS DE ZEVEN PROVINCIEN, the EU NAVFOR Spanish frigate SPS VICTORIA, and the CTF 151 American flagship USS BOXER.

Once the skiff was stopped, the Greek Op Atalanta Flagship PSARA was soon at the scene and detained the vessel until the 7 suspected pirates were taken into German custody onboard the frigate FGS RHEINLAND-PFALZ early this morning.

A decision regarding the venue of their trial will be taken later today.

Norweign NANSEN-Class Frigate

The Norwegian Government announced this week that they will contribute one of their brand new NANSEN-Class Frigates to the EU NAVFOR anti-piracy operation. The 5000 tonne warship will bring a significant capability to the Op Atalanta force when it deploys in August.

Some 1.000 Norwegian owned or operated vessels transit through Somali waters every year, a number of which have been unsuccessfully attacked.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry also announced on Wednesday that it would contribute military forces to Op Atalanta over the next few months. The 30 troops pledged will be used to assist with the protection of World Food Program shipments and Swiss owned or operated merchant vessels.

In other news, a British cruise liner BALMORAL took evasive action earlier this week on suspecting it was about to come under attack from 2 skiffs that closed the ship at speed. However, the Captain’s prompt action prevented the incident building into a full blown attack and as a result the helicopter from the nearby Atalanta Spanish frigate VICTORIA, that was standing by to launch, was not required.

Finally, the Egyptian cargo ship MV BLUE STAR and its crew of 28, which was hijacked on new years day was released from pirate control on Wednesday.

Text of report in English by French news agency AFP

A Spanish warship Thursday [ 12 February] foiled an attack by pirates on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, the defence ministry said.

It said a helicopter from the frigate VICTORIA, participating in the European Union’s new task force in the region, fired warning shots at the pirate vessel.

The VICTORIA first received an alert from a Cypriot-registered bulk carrier, the JOLBOS, on Thursday afternoon saying it had come under attack from pirates, the ministry said in a statement.

The helicopter pilot then contacted the crew, who said their vessel had come under rocket fire but that they had taken evasive action to avoid the pirates.

The pirates then approached another merchant ship, the UAE-registered Dubai, but were scared off by warning shots from the helicopter, the statement said.

Spain last month authorised the deployment of the VICTORIA, which has 210 military personnel on board, to the waters off Somalia as part of the EU’s Operation Atalanta against maritime piracy.

HMS NORTHUMBERLAND

The Op Atalanta warship NORTHUMBERLAND (UK) is this week escorting four different World Food Program (WFP) ships into three different Somali ports. Thus far two ships have arrived safely in Mogadishu and Bosaso with a further two expected in Berbera over this weekend.

Escorting WFP ships is a principle task for Op Atalanta and so far almost 40,000 tonnes of aid have been delivered into Somalia – enough to feed over 1.2 million people.

Soon to join Op Atalanta is the Spanish frigate SPS VICTORIA, arriving in the Gulf of Aden early next week. She is a Spanish warship of the USN OLIVER HAZARD PERRY (FFG-7) design and carries two Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters onboard.

The German frigate KARLSRUHE is being relieved by its sister ship RHEINLAND-PFALZ this weekend and a handover ceremony will take place in Djibouti to mark the occasion.

Commander (GE) Hans-Joachim Kuhfahl, commanding officer of the KARLSRUHE had this to say as their deployment draws to a close.

“It has been a great privilege to be part of Operation Atalanta. All the ship’s company have found the deployment very rewarding as they have clearly seen the value of what they are doing. Protecting the merchant fleet has had a real benefit to global trade and we have had a very positive response from all the merchant vessels we have worked with over the past few months”,

Finally, 7 vessels now remain held under pirate control along with approximately 120 crew members.

Spanish Warship SPS VICTORIA

Spanish Warship SPS VICTORIA

The Spanish Parliament is expected to announce the contribution of a warship to the Op ATALANTA taskforce after voting in the motion yesterday.

Defence Minister Carme Chacon said “a frigate and a supply ship with 200 Spanish troops aboard would leave for the Gulf of Aden, after the Cabinet gives final approval on Friday”.

The vessel chosen is the SANTA MARIA-Class frigate SPS VICTORIA (F82), commanded by Commander Fernando Poole SN, which will sail from the Spanish Naval Headquarters in Rota, near Cadiz, this weekend.

The 4,000 tonne warship’s armaments include a 76mm gun, anti-ship missiles and two Lamps helicopters.

In other news the UK frigate NORTHUMBERLAND successfully escorted the 8,000 tonne World Food Program Vessel the MV JAIKUR II into Mogadishu early this morning.