In the early hours of 11 December, the MV RENUAR was pirated in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1050 nautical miles east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl and a distance of 550 nautical miles from the coast of India.
The attack was launched from 2 attack skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel. Since the attack, the pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading West towards the Somali Coast.
The MV RENUAR is a Panama flagged, Liberian owned bulk cargo vessel, with a deadweight of 70,156 tonnes, and was en route to Fujairah (UAE) from Port Louis (Mauritius), when pirated. The 24 man Filipino crew attempted to evade the pirates for some time causing the pirates to make several determined attacks before finally boarding the vessel. There are presently no communications with the ship and the condition of the crew is not known.
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.