MVs Ital Garland and Westermoor evade pirate attack

Apr 02, 2010 - 20:18
On the morning of 2 April, the Italian Flagged container ship Ital Garland came under attack from 2 pirate skiffs firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades approximately 250 nautical miles off the Horn of Africa on route to Mombasa from Salalah.

The ltal Garland took evasive procedures to avoid continued attack.  The Ital Garland has deadweight of 53240 tonnes and a crew of 22 (9 Italian, 1 Ukrainian and 12 Filipino). There were no casualties on board and only limited damage to the ship.

In a similar incident on the morning of 2 April, the MV Westermoor, a Liberian flagged ship, came under attack approximately 120 nautical miles off the Northern tip of Madagascar. A vessel with deadweight 35654 and a crew of 21 (2 German, 2 Russian and 17 Filipino), the MV Westermoor was attacked with rocket propelled grenades and avoided continued attack through evasive action and speed. There were no casualties or significant damage to the ship.

In both attacks EU NAVFOR's Force Commander Admiral Gumiero onboard the Italian warship ETNA ordered Maritime Patrol aircraft to search for the pirate attack groups.

Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

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