Late on the morning of 16 July, it was reported by the owners that the MV JUBBA XX, a laden tanker, had been pirated in the northern Indian Ocean, on her regular route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera, Somalia.
On the morning of 17 July, the vessel was located by a Maritime Patrol aircraft 100 nautical miles north-west of Socotra Island, heading to the northern Somali coast. Little information is available at present but it is reported that 9 suspected Somali pirates are on board MV JUBBA XX.
The MV JUBBA XX is a UAE owned and flagged oil tanker, deadweight of 4831 tonnes, with a crew of 16 (1 Sri Lankan, 5 Indian, 3 Bangladesh, 1 Sudanese, 1 Myanmar, 1 Kenyan and 4 Somali). There is no information on the condition of the crew and the vessel was not registered with MSCHOA at the time of the pirating. EUNAVFOR continues to monitor the situation.
EUNAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EUNAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy and monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.