Press Releases

Early on the morning of 2 October, Somali pirates gained control of the Spanish tuna fishing vessel ALAKRANA, midway between the Seychelles and the Somali port of Kismayo, some 400 miles offshore. The fishing vessel, with a crew of 36, was just two days into an expedition.

During the early morning of October 2nd 2009 the Spanish Fishing Vessel ALAKRANA was hijacked in the Indean Ocean by pirates at some 360 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia.

A meeting of the SHADE Group met in Bahrain on 29 Sept 2009 to discuss practical aspects of counter-piracy off the coast of Somalia.

EU NAVFOR Netherlands Flagship HNLMS EVERTSEN visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between 24 and 26 September.

The French invited the two Kenyan officers onboard to illustrate the European desire to enlarge key cooperation areas with Kenya in Operation ATALANTA.

On 15 September the EU NAVFOR warship ESP CANARIAS received a call from the Spanish Navy Ops Centre (COVAM) about an injured sailor onboard the Spanish fishing vessel INTERTUNA I

On Saturday 19 September a exausted man was saved by the Swedish units after swimming nearly 3 km in an attempt to board the sealift vessel that will bring the EU NAVFOR Swedish warships back home.

Late afternoon of Sunday 20th of September, a Bulk Carrier reported an approach of a skiff while in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden. On board of the Bulk Carrier a unit of the Yemeni Navy was embarked.

The injured sailor of the fishing vessel ¨INTERTUNA I¨ who was bitten by a shark was evacuated to a hospital in Port Victoria.

On 15 September the EU NAVFOR warship ESP CANARIAS received a call from the Spanish Navy Ops Centre (COVAM) about an injured sailor onboard the Spanish fishing vessel INTERTUNA I.

The crew of the M/V IRENE the bulk carrier recently released from pirate control off Somalia have received medical and logistic assistance from EU NAVFOR ship HNLMS EVERTSEN. The released ship has remained at anchor near the Somali coast due to a shortage of fuel to continue her journey.

Following the release of M/V IRENE E.M. and subsequent initial assistance by EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship HNLMS EVERTSEN on September 13th, HNLMS EVERTSEN was tasked to provide further assistance to M/V IRENE E.M.