EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

Early morning on 28 March, the Seychellois flagged fishing vessel reported that a whaler and a skiff had approached her in a suspicious manner with automatic weapons and a Rocket Propelled Grenade(RPG) clearly visible.  The EUNAVFOR warship immediately made her way to the scene and launched her SH-60B helicopter to investigate further.

After 2 attempts by the Whaler to flee the scene, the helicopter was forced to fire warning shots in front of the vessel to make it stop.  The occupants of the whaler were observed throwing items of equipment overboard just before the ESPS CANARIAS arrived.  Having been stopped by the helicopter, the whaler and the skiff were boarded by a team from the Spanish warship and 11 suspected pirates detained.  The whaler was taken alongside by the warship and the skiff was destroyed.

After presenting the case to the Seychellois authorities, it has been agreed to transfer the suspected pirates to the Seychelles for prosecution.   These suspected pirates, who were allegedly plying their trade against a Seychellois vessel, will now face Seychellois justice.

EUNAVFOR 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). EUNAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. EUNAVFOR finally monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.