The Yemeni-flagged dhow* “AL-HIDAYA” that was hijacked** on 16 March off Durdura, in the vicinity of Eyl, Northern coast of Puntland (Somalia) has been released.
On 20 March, the alleged hijackers abandoned the dhow in the vicinity of Dhinowda, location South of the position where the incident initially started.
On 21 March early in the morning, EUNAVFOR ATALANTA conducted a friendly approach to assist the crew and gathered information from the fishing vessel. On board, the eight Somali crew members were safe, and evidence of the hijacking were gathered.
This incident is the third piracy-related case involving a Yemeni fishing vessel. Together with the Chinese fishing vessel case, piracy-related incidents bring four closed cases in the area in 2025, all of them inside territorial water of Somalia.
The commitment and effectiveness of EUNAVFOR ATALANTA forces and their regional and international maritime security partners are essential in resolving these incidents hampering maritime safety and freedom of navigation in the region.
ATALANTA assessment and recommendations are shared through the appropriate channels with the shipping operators and updated on the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) website (www.mscio.eu).
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA remains vigilant to any piracy-related events in its Area of Operations to ensure the maritime security. Operation ATALANTA strongly recommends merchant and other vulnerable vessels to register in the MSCIO's Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS), to provide the most effective monitoring and response by ATALANTA forces and their partners in countering maritime security threats.
* Dhow: Regional fishing boat.
** Hijacked: suspected pirates have illegally boarded and taken control of a vessel against the crew’s will.
