September 2011

On September 29 the EU NAVFOR warship FGS KÖLN located and destroyed a suspicious whaler close to a beach off Somalia, 100 nautical miles SW of Mogadishu.

Djibouti. A German Navy Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) has been in Djibouti since Sunday participating in the EUNAVFOR mission ATALANTA.

EUNAVFOR warship FGS KÖLN has today, 28 September, stopped and boarded a suspicious group of two small boats, a whaler and skiff.

The 7th meeting of the Training Awareness and De-confliction (TRADE) group will be held on 4 October and hosted at the Operational Headquarters of EU NAVFOR Operation ATALANTA.

Following payment of a ransom, the M/V EAGLE, which was pirated on 17 January 2011 in position 490 nautical miles South of Salalah, Oman has recently been released from pirate control off the coast of Somalia. The ship is now on her way to a safe port.

Mike Penning MP, the UK Under-Secretary of State for Transport visited the EU NAVFOR Operation HQ in Northwood on 15 Sep 11 to be briefed on counter-piracy operations off Somalia.

Djibouti - On 25 September, EU NAVFOR welcomed a German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) which will operate off the Horn of Africa. Based in Djibouti, the Lockheed Martin P-3C ‘ORION’, will add to the mission’s capabilities until December.

Next week, a P-3C maritime patrol aircraft from the Naval Air Wing 3 "Graf Zeppelin", based in Nordholz, Germany, will reinforce the EU-led Operation ATALANTA, countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa.

The German frigate FGS BAYERN, part of the Operation ATALANTA counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa, has recently escorted the merchant vessel “SEA MASTER I” safely into the port of Bossasso on the northern coast of Somalia.

The ship is a Mongolian flagged, Vietnamese owned bulk carrier and has a Vietnamese crew of 24. The ship was pirated approximately 520 nautical miles South East of the port of Muscat, Oman and was not registered with MSC(HOA) and or reporting to UKMTO.    

The Commander of Task Force 465, Rear Admiral Thomas Jugel, met the commander of  Task Force 151 (CTF 151),Jim Captain Gilmour. He was received with military honours on the flagship USS Anzio.

 On 10 September EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA assets intercepted and forcibly stopped a suspected Somali Pirate skiff which was involved in the abduction of a crew member from the French Sailing Yacht (SY) TRIBAL KAT.

On September 12, EU NAVFOR welcomed the German frigate FGS KÖLN to Operation ATALANTA.

Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, Operational Commander EU NAVFOR, participated at the “Anti Piracy and Maritime Security Conference” between 6-9 September in the Seychelles.

EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta assets have today, 10 September, stopped and boarded a skiff thought to have been involved in an incident with the French Sailing Yacht (SY) TRIBAL KAT. One member of the crew from the yacht was found safe.

On 8 September, the FGS BAYERN responded to a distress call and located a yacht off the coast of Yemen. An inspection of the yacht found no persons on board. The whereabouts of the crew is unknown at this time.

The Russian Federation Northern Fleet ASW frigate RFS SEVEROMORSK is currently escorting the M\V Medi Chennai which is carrying 45,936 metric tons of wheat for the World Food Programme (WFP) through the Red Sea to Djibouti.

On September 6 the motor vessel MSC PANAMA was released from pirate control after 270 days in captivity and is now underway to a safe port.

HNLMS ZUIDERKRUIS, a Fast Combat Support Ship, in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy since 1975, joined Operation ATALANTA on 5 September 2011.

On September 5, the Spanish frigate SPS SANTA MARIA ended her participation in Operation ATALANTA after 131 days as a part of the EU NAVFOR Task Force.

On 1st of September, the Spanish amphibious ship SPS GALICIA joined EU NAVFOR Task Force 465 off the Horn of Africa.