Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor update november 13

2009-11-13 * FRI * 23h42:18 UTC

Issue No. 287

BREAKING :

FOUR ATTACKS BY SOMALI PIRATES IN TWO DAYS
On the morning of 12 November, east in the Gulf of Aden, two merchant vessels were attacked by pirates. There are no reports of casualties. The first attack was on MV FULL STRONG, a Hong Kong flagged 220 meter long Bulk Carrier. MV FULL STRONG was approached by pirates in 2 skiffs and a mother skiff but managed to evade the attack.
Shortly after this attack, in almost the same position, MV FENGLI 8, a Panama flagged 225 meter Bulk Carrier was attacked in two fast attack skiffs and one mother skiff. The master and crew were alert and immediately activated anti piracy measures (according to MSCHOA Best Management Practices) and, with speed and evasive action, they were able to avoid being hijacked.
Today, 13 November, MV GOLINA was attacked but could escape with evasive manoevers.
Also MV JOLLY ROSSO, an Italian flagged Ro-Ro cargo ship had reportedly come today, Friday morning, under attack and could escape, though one reporting centre doubted the distress alarm. The vessel had been attacked already on Oct. 22, 2009 in the Indian Ocean. The 1983 built Jolly Rosso has also a very dark spot in her history :
Traces of Mercury and Cesnium 137 have recently been found near the town of Amantea in Calabria / Italy further south of Cetraro by about 50 kilometers. Cesnium 137 is a radioactive byproduct of fission reactions that is highly soluble in water and highly toxic, with a half-life of 30 years. This contamination is believed to have come from another ship called the Jolly Rosso that beached along the Calabrian shore in 1990. The cargo of the Jolly Rosso was illegally dumped near Amantea on a hill along the Oliva River. Amantea is a hotspot for tumors and ground temperature around the contaminated area is said to be six degrees warmer than normal. The population is demanding the truth and government action.
Toxic dumping by often Italian firms along the African coasts is one of the books which haven’t been clearly written yet, because the Mafia business is shouded in secrecy like the recent case of the Tug BUCCANEER with two barges or the murder of Mrs. Alperi and her cameraman in Mogadishu.

... don’t try to shoot the messenger, just target the originators of the reported mayhem !
Norway stands accused of another murder case at the coast of Somalia (Editorial)
Norwegian naval murderers don’t learn and also seem to not have understood that they have no rights in Somali waters.
Most likely believing that they still would be the sons of the Vikings, who became infamous in history for their murderous and bloody raids all over northern Europe, the Norwegian navy, who had committed outright murder in the cases of killing one Yemeni and one Somali man during a past midnight assault on moored fishing vessels 20 km east of Alula just a week ago, tried the same at 14h00 local time on 11 November 2009, while passing the Gulf of Aden coast - this time while moving towards the East.
"Shots were fired upon two RHIB’s (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) from EU NAVFOR warship HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen, 83 nautical miles from Boosaaso," the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa said in their release and tried to belittle what happened by saying :
"The RHIB’s conducted a routine patrol off the Somali coast. Weather conditions were clear with good visibility. The RHIB’s were suddenly fired upon while passing some Dhows at a distance of approximately 400 meters. The EU NAVFOR units responded with cover fire and withdrew to a safe distance. There were no casualties on the EU NAVFOR Norwegian side," the report says, while it is not even mentioning any casualties on the side of their targets.
Now, even if that EU-forces report would be the whole truth and nothing but the truth, would we call a criminal intruder, who receives warning shots or even would be targeted in self-defence by the rightful owner of the house, whereby the intruder in turn launches a massive response of automatic "cover-fire" and shoots up your whole house and yourself, suddenly a rightful actor or is it rather so that the aggressor must be still seen as the criminal intruder he is in the first place - but now even one who commits premeditated, armed assault and cold murder ? The answer is obvious.
The attack by the Norwegian naval units in their commando boats against the dhows, who had not been linked to any wrongdoing, happened within the 12nm zone, in violation of the international laws as well as the UN Security Council resolutions, whose even latest ill-set versions require a consent by the Somali government - and thereby parliament - for any action, why any foreign navy undertakes against Somalia or Somali people within Somali territory. Such consent has never been given to the Norwegians - even not by any of the weird legal constructs the European and other navies entangle themselves with in the moment.
NORWAY IS NOT AN EU MEMBER
Interestingly the European naval mission ATALANTA this time calls the Norwegian naval contingent a part of EU NAVFOR, the hastily assembled joint European naval force, while Norway is not even a member state of the European Union (EU).
Therefore also the fraudulently provided covering agreements for naval operations in Somali waters do not provide any cover. They were signed without the knowledge of the Somali parliament in a clandestine meeting with the French ambassador to Kenya - Mme. Bovier - for the EU and by one Nuur Cadde, who was at the time a Prime Minister in the cabinet of former TFG President Abdullahi Yussuf. Nur Cadde, as he is widely known, obviously received as reward for such favour and assumable high treason, and after he was chased out of his PM chair and cabinet, the post of Somali ambassador to Italy - the former colonial power, who still serves as ill advised lead-country for the European Union and which is the only statelet of the newly empowered European Union, which still channels directly and without EU consent money to Italy’s friends and warlords within the changing governing alliances of the Somali quagmire.
Does real warfare become for today’s cyberspace-generation of admirals an issue, where you just can log-in without the consent of your people ? Is EU-NAVFOR a sickening reality-game-show, where you can get your way in by just paying a ticket ?
Norway might take their taxpayer’s money in order to buy themselves into European projects like EU NAVFOR, but that does not make their actions at the Horn of Africa legal or just or wanted by the majority of the Norwegians.
The Norwegian government therefore must be held fully responsible for any of their extra-judicial killings around the Horn of Africa and especially while having invaded the territory of Somalia.
By these criminal actions the Norwegian navy also has completely destroyed the once good reputation and amicable relationship Norway enjoyed with the majority of Somalis, based on the good deeds with which the northern country through organizations like Norwegian Peoples Aid helped the Somalis. The Somalis at one occasion in the beginning of the 90’s even thanked the King of Norway with a gift of one of their famous Nugal-valley horses of Arabian thoroughbred stock. These times are gone since long and the navy of Norway has now left scars, which in traditional Somali customs will not heal until retaliation is done or the blood-price is paid.
Is it worth to jeopardize all that friendly understanding between nations and their people for the dubious fun of a naval hunting party ? Even more seriously, one point must be made clear also to the Norwegian naval nut-cases, even if they feel in good company of other similarly blotched operations of other navies : If you act with impunity against the so called enemies of all - as many want to see the pirates - but by your actions you violate yourself all norms of today’s set of humanitarian and international law you become yourself a hostis humani generis and must be persecuted and prosecuted not only by your own admiralty and courts of law but by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

LATEST :

STATUS OF ABDUCTED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA

Summary : Today, 13th November 2009, at least 13 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somalia against the will of their owners, while at least 280 seafarers suffer to be released.

Cases not completely closed :

MS INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER and S/Y SERENITY - presumed sunken, wrecks not secured.

BARGE NN - an unnamed barge is held at Kulule (near Bendar-Beyla) since mid march. Ownership and circumstances not yet clarified. In the meantime local people have developed some ailments.

S/Y JUMLA or YUMLA ? - a mysterious yacht kept near Dinooda.

MT AGIA BARBARA : INDIAN AND SYRIAN CREW STILL WANTED FOR MURDER - vessel escaped from Somalia after the murder of a TFG policeman and the attempted murder of another to the UAE - unhindered by international naval forces. See our respective updates.

Cases in negotiations :

FV WIN FAR 161 - The Taiwanese fishing vessel was seized April 6, 2009 near the Seychelles. Said to have been observed earlier to fish illegally in Somali waters. It had after the sea-jacking been involved in the attack on MV ALABAMA and is now still moored about 7 nm from Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast. The crew of 30 (17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five Chinese and two Taiwanese) is still together and on board, but in awful condition. The ship’s skipper and first engineer are Taiwanese nationals and the 700-ton long-liner is owned by a Taiwanese company, which regularly sent their vessels into Somali waters from the Seychelles - a key transshipment point for poached tuna from the Indian Ocean to Japan. The Government of the Philippines seems to be pretty helpless to even find the manning agency, who lured the 17 Pinoy sailors into the fish-poaching operation. Naval fire damaged the vessel, but it is said to still be able to sail. It is moored on thee heavy anchor obtained from another, former sea-jack hostage - the MV Hansa Stavanger - near Garacad.

MV ARIANA : Seized May 2, 2009. The Ariana was seized north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil laden with soy-beans. The 24-strong all-Ukrainian crew has run low in food and water. The ship, flying a Maltese flag, belongs to All Oceans Shipping in Greece, who fronts for a British conglomerate. So far the shipping company has not responded to calls for urgently required medical attention. Two female sailors are on board, one of them in serious condition. The vessel received some fuel from MV KOTA WAJAR and is at the moment held close to it north of Hobyo. The Ukrainian Human Rights ombudswoman had appealed to her European counterpart in order to achieve immediate relief to the suffering of the crew members, who have run out of food and clean water. Promises by the Ukrainian government to facilitate the offered evacuation of two female sailors, one of whom was in a life-threatening medical condition and still would require to be flown out, were broken. The vessel and crew are held near Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast. News concerning her release disseminated by wire-services did not come true. Medicine for the sick lady-sailor and the crew shall now be provided.

MV CHARELLE : Seized on June 12, 2009. The relatively small 2,800-tonne general cargo ship carrying mostly empty containers was captured 60 miles south of Oman. The Antigua and Barbuda flagged vessel is owned by shipping firm Tarmstedt International and operated from New Zealand. Seven of the 10 member crew are Sri Lankans, 3 are Filipinos. The New Zealand shipping company, who owns the vessel, confirmed that negotiations for the release of MV CHARELLE had broken down, because the sea-shifta did not honour the reached agreement and negotiations had to start all over again. It seems that the new negotiation has now reached an agreement. The vessel is at the moment said to come near to Garacad at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast.

FV ALAKRANA : Seized on Oct. 2, 2009. The 3,716-tonne EU financed, Basque owned and usually Spanish-flagged fishing vessel with a crew of 36 and a home port in the Spanish Basque Country was re-flagged to fly the flag of the Seychelles during her fishing venture in the Indian Ocean. The Seychelles coastguard said the ship was seized 400 nautical miles north-west of Mahe. The vessel had previously escaped an attempted hijack on Sept. 4. Of the 36 seafarers on board 16 are Spaniards. Two Somalis, who left the vessel in the territorial waters were attacked, one wounded and both arrested in the 12 miles zone of Somalia by Spanish naval forces and extradited to Spain , where they stand trial. The Somali captors demand that the two Somalis are first brought back before any negotiation for the release of vessel and crew can start in earnest. Spanish captain reportedly suffers from nervous breakdown. 3 Spanish sailors are held on land as separate hostages for the demand of the return of the 2 arrested Somalis. This, the Media-spins and an unclear governmental line make the case difficult. Vessel and crew are held north of Harardheere at the Central Somali coast.

MV KOTA WAJAR : Seized on Oct. 15, 2009. The 24,637-tonne container ship, seized 300 nautical miles north of Seychelles, was heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa from Singapore. It has a multinational 21 men crew on board, of which two are Singaporean 5 Sri Lankan and 4 Indian. It was used to lift a sea-jacked British couple, John and Rachel Chandler from their 38-ft yacht

S/Y LYNN RIVAL

, seized October,22 2009 en route to Tanzania and later recovered by the UK naval vessel Waveknight. The boxship is held around 30nm south of Hobyo and negotiations have started since a week.

MV DE XIN HAI : Seized on Oct. 19, 2009. The 76,000 tonne Chinese bulk carrier with 25 Chinese sailors was en route from South Africa to carries about 76,000 tonnes of coal and there were 25 Chinese crew aboard when it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean 550 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia. The bulker is owned by the state-owned Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co. Negotiations for the release seem not to have started in earnest, though the Chinese Shipowners’ Association secretary general Zhang Zuyue confirmed that the Chinese side is willing to pay a ransom. The vessel and crew are held slightly more than 3nm south of Hobyo at the central Somali coast.

MV AL KHALIQ : Seized on Oct. 22, 2009. The Panamanian-flagged 22,000 dwt handymax bulker MV AL KHALIQ was abducted around180 miles west of the Seychelles. The crew consists of 24 Indian sailors and two Burmese nationals. EU NAVFOR patrol aircraft confirmed the hijacking, with 6 pirates seen on board and two skiffs in tow. A third, the ’mother ship’ had apparently already been winched onto the ship’s deck. The vessel with over 35,000 metric tons of wheat grain is now moored near Harardheere and the crew is on board.

FV THAI UNION 3 : Seized on Oct. 29, 2009. Pirates on two skiffs boarded the tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 Russians, two Filipinos and two nationals from Ghana about 200 nautical miles north of the Seychelles and 650 miles off the Somali coast. During the attack the Russian captain was shot in the left elbow. The Russian and US navies tried to provide medical aid to the captain, while the captors themselves took him to hospital, had him treated and returned him to the vessel. The fishing vessel and its crew are held just around 1.5nm apart from FV ALAKRANA, near Harardheere at the central Somali coast.

YEMENI FV : A Somali militia seized overnight on Friday October 30, 2009 a Yemeni fishing vessel, whose exact name and number of crew could not yet be established, in the Indian Ocean after a gun battle, in which at least one Somali was killed and another one wounded. The government of Yemen has confirmed the abduction. [Some of our observers suggest that this is actually the AL HILAL, while others say it is a different vessel.]

MV DELVINA : Seized on Nov. 5, 2009. The 53,629 dwt bulk carrier had 21 men crew consists of 7 Ukrainian officers and 14 Filipino sailors. The vessel was seized 250 nautical miles northwest of Madagascar and is laden with wheat. It arrived last night near Harardheere at the central Somali coast and the crew is said to be ok, given the circumstances. No negotiations yet.

MV ALMEZAAN : Seized on Nov. 7, 2009. The small Panama-flagged 2000 to ship is being held near the northern Somali town of Garacad. The17-strong crew, include 15 Indian citizens and two citizens of Pakistan, while one additional person - a Somali - was found to not be a sailor but escorting the sensitive part of the goods. The captors, maritime sources as well as a government official reported the craft is carrying besides other general cargo also light arms and ammunition, as well rocket-propelled grenades and rockets. While Mogadishu cargo owners maintain that there is no weapon shipment on board, hidden negotiations for an extraordinary high ransom are ongoing.

AL HILAL : Seized before Nov. 9, 2009 near Ras Hafun while having engine troubles. The white-coloured fishing vessel is now said to be of Libyan origin, but it is neither found in the regular ship register nor in the list of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. A Yemeni connection is also reported. The vessel then stranded on Nov. 9, 2009 at a place called Diin Kudhac, from where the crew was brought on land and to Eyl. In the meantime it is reported that the vessel has been completely looted, incl. the engine and will most likely never sail again. The crew - consisting of sailors from India and Bangladesh - has been split up by the around 14 captors. Negotiations for their safe release started, while some of the Indian sailors went on hunger strike.

MV FILITSA : Seized on Nov. 10, 2009. The 1996-built, 23,709 dwt cargo-ship has a crew of 22, including three Greek officers and 19 Filipinos. The Marshall Islands-flagged ship had been heading from Kuwait to Durban in South Africa when it was attacked 513 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles as it was sailing from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the port of Durban in S. Africa loaded with fertilizer. The ship belongs to the Order Shipping Co. Ltd.

news from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships as well as seafarers and vessels in distress

French Navy storms Somali pirate mothership (EU/agencies)
French commandos have stormed, yesterday 12. November, a Somali pirate ’mothership’ and arrested 12 gunmen, the military announced today, adding that the gangs are increasingly operating in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean.
The French Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday that the Floreal surveillance boat, backed by a Luxembourg maritime surveillance plane, intercepted a pirate ship and two skiffs 650 nautical miles (about 750 statute miles) east of Hobyo, Somalia and 500 nautical miles north-west of the Seychelles.
Tipped off by the spotters on the Luxembourg maritime reconnaissance plane, the French frigate Floreal intercepted a dhow towing two motorised skiffs on Thursday.
A helicopter from the warship fired a warning shot across the vessel’s bows as its crew began to throw incriminating material over the side. French troops boarded the ship and arrested the pirates without violence.
On board they found grappling hooks, GPS navigation devices and assault rifles, French military spokesman Admiral Christophe Prazuck said.
"Last year or at the start of this one the centre of gravity was in the Gulf of Aden," Admiral Prazuck said, referring to the straits between Arabia and the Horn of Africa that have become notorious for pirate attacks.
Floreal is fighting under EU colours as part of Operation Atalanta.

Yemen Coast Guard captures 8 pirates in Gulf of Aden (Saba)
Yemen’s Coast Guard has seized eight Somali pirates in the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden.
A spokesman for the authority said Friday the pirates were captured on a fishing boat with two RPGs and small and medium weapons.
A ladder, believed to be used to get onboard attacked ships by the pirates, was seized with the Somalis who were apprehended in the area of Amran, he said. An investigation is underway as a prelude to turn over the Africans to the judiciary.
Piracy has surged off Somalia in recent years, with more than 140 vessels attacked last year.
This year also witnessed Somali pirates stepping up their attacks taking and attempting to hijack dozens of merchant ships off Somalia in the first quarter.
Somali pirates usually demand ransoms for what they seize ; ships and their crews.
The phenomenon has become a global concern triggering dispatching anti-pirate missions to the region.
With the steps taken to combat piracy, some pirates were arrested and they went on trial in Yemen.

HOPE FOR HOSTAGES by Euan Stretch (mirror)
The retired British couple held hostage by pirates in Somalia could be freed within a month, an expert negotiator claimed yesterday. Andrew Mwangura said it was likely Paul, 59, and Rachel Chandler, 55, would be released within weeks as long as profiteers did not get involved in negotiations.
Mr Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, spoke as the couple continued to be held near the pirate stronghold of Haradhere on the Somalian coast. The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were seized by pirates on their 38ft yacht Lynn Rival 60 miles off the Seychelles on October 23.
Initially the gunmen asked for a £4.6million ransom before demanding the release of seven fellow pirates arrested by a German warship last month.
Mr Mwangura, 46, said : "They have changed their minds. They realise the Chandlers are poor people. They are human beings in their middle ages and a lot of people in their middle ages have medical problems. It’s costing the pirates time and money."
However Mr Mwangura warned it was unlikely the couple would be released without some kind of ransom being paid, and this could be within a month.
He added : "It’s a waiting game. There are a lot of profiteers in this kind of business in this region. We want the profiteers and brokers to stay away for the moment."

Will they ? - or is this another government spin ?

Pirates allow doctor on board ’Alakrana’ (eitb)|
The hijackers have agreed to the ship’s fishing crew receiving medical attention for the "enormous physical and emotional tension" they are under, the Defence ministry has informed.
Somali pirates who have been holding the Basque tuna-fishing boat Alakrana hostage for the past 42 days have allowed a doctor on board the ship to attend to the captured crew, the Secretary of State for Defence informed on Wednesday.
In a statement to Radio Galega, Méndez went on to explain that the fishermen were under "enormous physical and emotional tension" for which they needed to receive medical attention.
A team from the Navy’s Social Institute sent out to where the ship is located on the high seas will cooperate in providing medical and psychological assistance to the crew.
On Wednesday, the Defence Minister, Carme Chacon, indicated that the crew were "well and have water and provisions". The legal option
Chacon herself also signalled on Wednesday that among the "array of options" open to the Government for finding a solution to the current hijack situation was the possibility that the two Somali pirates currently being held in Spanish prisons be tried by the National High Court to see out their sentence at home in Somalia.
About this, she went on to say that "the international cannot look the other way" given that the two pirates have strong legal representation within European law and instead decided to "trace (any) ransom money".
In this regard, Chacon stressed that the hijackers "aren’t the romantic pirates that one imagines," emphasizing that they had "connections and firms of lawyers at the highest level in London".
The pirates say they will not release any of the fishermen until Spanish authorities release two of their colleagues from custody in Spain.

COULD.... SHOULD .... WOULD.... - WHO TRUSTS WHOM ?

Alakrana could be freed in 2 or 3 days (eitb)
A spokesman for the pirates said on Friday that an agreement could be reached with the Spanish Ambassador in Nairobi.
While the controversy drags on regarding who is ultimately responsible for the detention of the two Somali pirates currently in Spain, it would seem that the hijackers of the Basque tuna fisher-boat, the Alakrana, are beginning to approve of negotiations being rolled out by Spanish and Somali authorities.
According to statement given by a spokesman for the hijackers to Basque newspaper El Correo, “if all goes to plan” the fishing boat could be freed in “two or three days”, even without the assurance that the two jailed pirated be returned to Somalia.
The spokesman revealed that the pirates were on the point of closing a deal with the Spanish Ambassador based in Nairobi, Nicolás Martín Cinto, which could be finalized on Friday thanks to the mediating influence of the intervention of an influential Somali authority whom the pirates trust.
The pact includes a guarantee that the jailed pirates would be transferred to Africa at a later date.
Private security
Meanwhile, on Friday the first agents in charge of fishing boat security will set sail toward the Seychelle, scheduled to arrive on Saturday. Fifty-two agent in total will work aboard the tuna fishing vessels ; four for each crew member.
Controversy in Spain
The Spanish Government had previously said that the release of the two pirates would not be open to negotiation, even when pirates on board had threatened to kill 3 crew members taken ashore if there was no progress in freeing those who had been detained.
The crew of the Alakrana have been held captive aboard the ship now for forty-three days, after being hijacked on 2nd October. Ministers working for its release have come in for criticism from the fishermen and their families for not negotiating the release of the jailed pair sooner. Disagreement also continues about who takes what share of responsibility for the arrest and extradition of the two Somali pirates currently in prison in Spain.

Navy ’looked on helpless as pirates took Brits’ by John Coles (SUN)
The UK Royal Navy watched helplessly as Somali pirates seized two British hostages.
Supply ship RFA Wave Knight was sent to intercept the pirates as they grabbed Paul and Rachel Chandler from their yacht, it was revealed last night.
The crew - 75 merchant seaman and 25 Navy sailors - were under orders NOT to fire in case the hostages were caught in a gun battle or murdered on the spot.
They played a three-hour cat and mouse game with the pirates’ mothership the Kota Wajar trying to head it off course. But their efforts were in vain as the Chandlers were transferred by small boat from their yacht to the mothership just 50 feet away from them.
Instead, the crew were left "depressed and frustrated" as the Kota Wajar, a seized container ship, made off with their captives towards Somalia.
The account from a crewman, who has asked not to be named, contradicts the official version.
This claimed the Navy found the Chandlers’ yacht Lynn Rival abandoned and drifting after the couple were seized.But the insider told The Sun : "We saw the moment they were handed over and were forced to stand by helpless. We did everything possible to save them."
Royal Fleet Auxiliary oil tanker Wave Knight is part of the Nato anti-piracy fleet off East Africa. But the Navy’s nearest warship HMS Cumberland was two hours away. RFA Wave Knight was ordered to try to slow the Kota Wajar - twice its size - down. Retired civil engineer Paul, 59, and wife Rachel, 55, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were seized three weeks ago.
The pirates want a £4million ransom.

Norwegian warship Fridtjof Nansen searches for pirate attack skiffs in the Gulf of Aden (EU/MSCHOA)
On the morning of 12 November, east in the Gulf of Aden, two merchant vessels were attacked by pirates. There are no reports of casualties.
The first attack was on MV FULL STRONG, a Hong Kong flagged 220 meter long Bulk Carrier. MV FULL STRONG was approached by pirates in 2 skiffs and a mother skiff but managed to evade the attack.
Shortly after this attack, in almost the same position, MV FENGLI 8, a Panama flagged 225 meter Bulk Carrier was attacked in two fast attack skiffs and one mother skiff. The master and crew were alert and immediately activated anti piracy measures (according to MSCHOA Best Management Practices) and, with speed and evasive action, they were able to avoid being hijacked.
EU NAVFOR Norwegian warship HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen on counter piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden has been tasked to search for the pirate attack group.
HNOMS Fridtjof Nansen takes part in the EU NAVFOR mission Operation ATALANTA. The main tasks of Operation ATALANTA are to escort merchant vessels carrying food of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), the protection of vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

Piracy rerouting suggested and strict 24-hour radar monitoring urged (Fairplay)
Ships transiting near the Somali coast and East Africa are being advised to consider routing south of 10S and east of 60E.
“They can then avoid the area between the Somali coast and west of Seychelles, where attacks have been rising,” Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre warned yesterday.
Pirates operating off Somalia have had a hijacking success rate exceeding 50% in recent weeks, the Kuala Lumpur-based IMB revealed, with eight successful hijackings in 17 attacks.
It has noted that attacks have occurred beyond the previously recommended 060E, with one on a VLCC about 1,000 n-miles off the Somali coast and about 062E.
Ships transiting the area are advised to maintain strict 24-hour radar monitoring and piracy lookouts throughout the passage. Ships sailing more than 600 n-miles or beyond 60E are also advised to remain vigilant at all times.
“All attacks and suspicious sighting”, including possible pirate mother vessels towing skiffs, should be reported, IMB added.

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With the latest captures and releases now still at least 13 seized foreign vessels (14 cases since yacht SY LYNN RIVAL was abandoned and taken by British Navy) with a total of not less than 280 crew members are accounted for.

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