EU NAVFOR French warship Floreal tracks down Pirate attack group

Nov 13, 2009 - 17:23
On Thursday 12 November, the EU NAVFOR French warship Floreal tracked down and apprehended the pirate attack group responsible for the recently reported attacks 500 miles north west of the Seychelles.

After previous attacks were reported on 10 and 11 November, and in particular the attempted hijacking of the BW Lion, the French warship Floreal was tasked to sanitize the area of the attacks. A EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol aircraft from the Seychelles found the pirate attack group and guided the Floreal onto their position. The Floreal found the pirate mother ship and two attack skiffs some 500 miles north west of the Seychelles and 650 miles east of Hobyo, a pirate stronghold on the coast of Somalia.

The pirates tried to dispose of weapons, ladders and other pirate paraphernalia but the Floreal was able to seize weapons, grappling hooks  and other equipment that left the ship in no doubt as to their intentions to carry out pirate attacks. French ship Floreal has taken the suspected pirates into custody.

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