EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

On the 5 May, the EU NAVFOR warship ITS ESPERO assisted the Italian Merchant Vessel ITAL GLAMOUR after it was attacked by pirates on the previous day.

The attack was performed by four armed pirates on board a skiff and was defeated due to the first-class execution of aggressive evasive steering, conducted by the vessel’s master as suggested in the industry lead Best Management Practices (BMP3).

ITS ESPERO was patrolling the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) at the time of the attack, and was quickly detached to close distance with the ITAL GLAMOUR in order to render assistance. The attack had taken place approximately 700 nautical miles east of Salalah, Oman.

During the attack, several Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) were fired by the pirates, one of which remained unexploded on board and had to be disposed of.  During  the afternoon of 5 May, the Italian warship’s Explosive Ordinary Devices (EOD) team was flown by helicopter onto the ITAL GLAMOUR and conducted a disposal of the unexploded round, as well as an inspection of the vessel.

After several hours, the operation was successfully completed and the merchant vessel was able to sail again safely.  ITS ESPERO returned to her previous mission.