Press Releases

On the afternoon 11th February, EU NAVFOR Warship ITS ETNA successfully completed her first escort in ATALANTA Operation.

M/V WIN FAR 161 that has been anchored off the Somali coast in the vicinity of Harardheere for almost 10 months has finally been released. The pirates vacated the vessel on the evening of 11 Feb and the master has taken command once more.

On the 9 of February 2010, the Panama flagged bulk carrier M/V AL KHALIQ, with a crew of 26 (24 Indians and 2 Burmese), was released after payment of a ransom.

EU NAVFOR MPA Detachment ORION attended the farewell ceremony of the Navy Captain Satoshi ASAOKA, Commanding Officer of the Japanese Air Force counter piracy team, in Djibout on 28th of January in Camp Lemonier.

On the 4th of February EU NAVFOR Warship FS SURCOUF arrived from Mombasa in front of Mogadishu with Two World Food Program vessels M/V ABDUL RAHMAN and M/V SEA DIAMOND.

On 29th of January, after three weeks of patrolling in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin, EU NAVFOR Flagship ITS ETNA called in at Port VICTORIA, Republic of Seychelles for a four day visit.

On 2 February, Operation Commander of EUNAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta, Rear-Admiral Peter Hudson, was in Brussels and briefed the press on developments regarding this counter-piracy operation.

The General Cargo vessel, M/V RIM is reported to have been hijacked this morning in the Gulf of Aden to the north of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC). M/V RIM is not registered with MSC HOA and has had no communications with UKMTO.

The hijacked M/V Asian Glory put to sea on Friday 29 January from the Somali coast and headed south to rendezvous with suspected pirate groups in the Indian Ocean. On Saturday 30 January, she headed north and eventually made a rendezvous with the hijacked Dhow Faize Osamani.

The Bulk Carrier Filitsa, hijacked in the Somali Basin on 11 November 2009, has been released after payment of a ransom.  The Marshall Island Flag Filitsa, with her crew of 22 (19 Filipino and 3 Greek) had been held at the pirate stronghold of Hobyo, on the Somali coast.

On the afternoon 27 January MCC Northwood hosted a short visit by the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Poroshenko, the Deputy MFA Mr Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, the Defence Attaché Col. Kyryliuk and Secretary Nikitov.

In early December a Pakistani fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates not far from the territorial waters of Oman and, during the attack, one of the fishermen was shot in the leg just below the knee.