EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

Recent photographic evidence from anti piracy coalition forces show that pirates continue to roam the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in search of prey.

Earlier today a coalition helicopter photographed suspicious skiff activity in the Gulf of Aden in the middle of the IRTC and other suspicious activity has been witnessed by EU NAVFOR units.

An alert has been issued to all ships in the area and Masters of merchant vessels have been warned to keep a good lookout and adopt best management practice (BMP) when transiting through the area in accordance with the Maritime Security Centre (Horn of Africa) MSCHOA website www.mschoa.org.

EU NAVFOR Somalia – 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. EUNAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.