EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

The General Cargo vessel, M/V RIM is reported to have been hijacked this morning in the Gulf of Aden to the north of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC). M/V RIM is not registered with MSC HOA and has had no communications with UKMTO.

The RIM was in the North West area of the Gulf of Aden just south of the Yemeni coast. The Coaster is a general cargo ship of 4,800 tonnes, North Korean flagged and owned by White Sea Shipping of Libya. A coalition ship USS PORTER that works closely with EU NAVFOR and a helicopter from USS FARRAGUT, both of CMF CTF 151, confirmed that the RIM had been hijacked.

There are no reports of the composition or nationalities of the M/V RIM that has now altered course and is heading towards the Somali Basin. Coalition forces will now monitor the situation.

EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.