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On the evening of 9 March the President, His Excellency Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and his delegation were greeted by Rear Admiral Peter Hudson CBE, Operational Commander of EU NAVFOR – Operation ATALANTA.

The chemical tanker Marshall Island flagged UBT Ocean hijacked on Friday, is now reported in the vicinity off the pirate stronghold east of Haradere.

The Kenyan flagged fishing vessel SAKOBA is reported hijacked 400 NM east of Dar Es Salam.

Early this morning an EU NAVFOR Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft from Djibout patrolling the Somali Basin received a distress call from Spanish F/V INTERTUNA 2 reporting that she was under attack by 4 skiffs.

As EU NAVFOR reported in a previous press release, several pirate attack groups are operating in the Southern Indian Ocean between Seychelles and Kenya.

Over the weekend of 5 – 7 March, EU NAVFOR units have been involved in concerted operations to interdict and disrupt pirate action groups before they had the opportunity to pirate vessels in the Indian Ocean.

Rear Admiral Bartolome Bauzá, Deputy Commander of EU NAVFOR Somalia -Operation ATALANTA, paid a recent visit to Djibouti to meet with key political  and military authorities in the country.

EU NAVFOR can confirm that early this morning a Thailand flagged fishing vessel (Thai Union 3) was released by pirates from the port of Haradeere after the payment of a ransom.

A Marshall Island flagged chemical tanker, UBT Ocean, is reported to have been hijacked on Friday morning 300 nautical miles from Dar El Salam.

Today, Thursday 4 March 2010, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope KCB OBE ADC, the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy visited the Headquarters of the EU Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta.

Early this morning, in the southern Indian Ocean, between the Seychelles and Mombasa a pirate group of 1 mother ship and 2 skiffs was intercepted by EU NAVFOR.

EU NAVFOR can report that earlier this morning, 4 March, the 2,100 tonnes Spanish Fishing Vessel Albacan was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean.