In the early hours of 24 October, the Captain of the Cargo ship BELUGA FORTUNE reported his ship was under attack by pirates 750 nautical miles off the Somali coast. The Captain then reported the pirates were on board and that he was with his crew locked in the ships ‘citadel’, disabling the ship’s propulsion.
On the afternoon of 24 October, an EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft was despatched to the area of the incident and reported sighting individuals on board, but was unable to establish contact with the crew.
The warship HMS Montrose, operating under NATO’s naval force, headed towards the vessel as it was the closest ship from the scene of attack. As a result, the pirates set fire to part of the superstructure and immediately abandoned the ship on 25 October. “A team of Royal Marines from HMS Montrose boarded the vessel this afternoon and released them from the safe room,” explained NATO. “None of the crew were injured.”
Beluga Shipping GmbH reported in a statement: “The alarmed Bundeswehr Operations Command and the international forces of the EU-Anti-Pirate-Mission “Operation Atalanta” coordinated the deployment of the warships and ferret aircraft on site. [...]All involved forces have acted very target-oriented and in combination with the excellent behaviour of our colleagues on board made such a swift and happy ending of the capture possible.”
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 African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EU NAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. EU NAVFOR finally monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.
On the afternoon of 24 October, an EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft was despatched to the area of the incident and reported sighting individuals on board, but was unable to establish contact with the crew.
The warship HMS Montrose, operating under NATO’s naval force, headed towards the vessel as it was the closest ship from the scene of attack. As a result, the pirates set fire to part of the superstructure and immediately abandoned the ship on 25 October. “A team of Royal Marines from HMS Montrose boarded the vessel this afternoon and released them from the safe room,” explained NATO. “None of the crew were injured.”
Beluga Shipping GmbH reported in a statement: “The alarmed Bundeswehr Operations Command and the international forces of the EU-Anti-Pirate-Mission “Operation Atalanta” coordinated the deployment of the warships and ferret aircraft on site. [...]All involved forces have acted very target-oriented and in combination with the excellent behaviour of our colleagues on board made such a swift and happy ending of the capture possible.”
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 African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EU NAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. EU NAVFOR finally monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.