On 3 November 2011 it was confirmed that the motor vessel BLIDA was released from pirate control and is now en route to Mombasa, Kenya.
The 20,586 tonne Bulk Carrier MV BLIDA, Algerian flagged and owned, was pirated on the 1st of January 2011 approximately 150 nautical miles South East of the port of Salalah, Oman, while enroute to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah, Oman.
EU NAVFOR Somalia is a counter-piracy taskforce operating in the area of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean responsible for deterring, preventing and repressing acts of piracy, for the safe escort of ships carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and to protect other vulnerable vessels. Additionally, EU NAVFOR monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.