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On 18 of March at 11.00, the Deputy commander EU NAVFOR Rear Admiral Bartolome Bauza ended a very successful visit to the Seychelles.

Early on the evening of Wednesday 17 March, the Italian Naval Ship SCIROCCO (attached to NATO coalition anti piracy forces) who had been monitoring a hijacked dhow, witnessed pirates leaving the hijacked Iranian dhow SAAD 1 in small boats, known as skiffs.

On the afternoon of Wednesday 17th March EU NAVFOR hosted a visit by two Shadow Ministers from the UK House of Commons.

This morning, 17 March, saw the culmination of highly successful EU NAVFOR pirate disruption activities by the EU NAVFOR French warship NIVOSE against Pirate Action Groups (PAG) operating in the Somali basin, approximately 350 nautical miles off the Somali Coast.

Early this morning, 17 March, two small skiffs made a fast approach on the EU NAVFOR Dutch HNLMS TROMP with, what appeared, to be a pirate attack.

The MV Theresa VIII, a Virgin Islands owned, Kiribati Flagged, chemical tanker with a crew of 28 and deadweight of 22, 294 tonnes,  has been released by pirates on 16 March 2010.

On 12th March, after receiving a report from MV E.R. LUBECK (Liberian Flag, German owner), that pirates in 2 skiffs had tried to hijack her, COMEUNAVFOR initiated a surge operation to intercept and disrupt the PAG.

At 11.00 on the 13 of March, the next Flagship of EU NAVFOR Somalia - Operation Atalanta, the Swedish Warship HMS CARLSKRONA, departed from Karlskrona in the south of Sweden.

The MV  Lübeck, previously of the China Shipping Container Lines, and now under German ownership, evaded pirate attack in the Somali Basin some  450 nautical miles NE of the Seychelles in the late hours of 11th, stretching into the early hours of 12 March.

EU NAVFOR units operating in the Somali Basin, between the Seychelles and the Somali coast, have discovered more suspected pirate activity.

Vice Admiral Betrand Aubriot Commander in Chief of the French Navy, visited the EU NAVFOR OHQ on Thursday 11 March to acquaint himself with the nerve centre of Operation Atalanta.

On Monday 8th March, the Swedish Coast guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) conducted its first formal mission for EU NAVFOR’s anti piracy operation – Atalanta.