Earlier this week, EU Naval Force confirmed that the Malaysian flagged Motor Vessel MV Albedo, held by armed pirates in an anchorage close to the Somali coast since November 2010, had sunk in rough seas

An EU Naval Force warship and Maritime Patrol Aircraft closed the scene to search for survivors.

During the aerial search, EU Naval Force Maritime Patrol Aircraft sighted two life boats on a Somali beach approximately 14 miles north of the position of the Albedo.  No members of the MV Albedo crew or pirates were sighted in or near the lifeboats.

Statement by the Secretariat for Regional Maritime Security, Somali Contact Group on Counter Piracyand Maritime Security (Kampala Process)