EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

The pirates that attacked and boarded the MV Taipan on the morning of the 5 April, and subsequently captured by soldiers from HNLMS Tromp, arrived today in the Netherlands on a military transport plane from Djibouti.

During the hijacking, the pirates boarded the ship, the MV Taipan, to find that the crew had already retreated to a secure strong room where they locked themselves in. They were able to stop the engines and thereby disable the ship, before alerting EU NAVFOR that the ship had been taken. HNLMS Tromp was sent immediately to the scene. Initially HNLMS Tromp attempted to negotiate with the pirates to avoid casualties but when it became clear that the pirates intended resisting, HNLMS Tromp launched a highly professional operation to recapture the ship. Marines from the TROMP boarded and retook control of the ship from the pirates. The crew of 13 (2 German, 3 Russian and 8 Sri Lankan nationals) were released unharmed.

The pirates will remain in the Netherlands until an extradition request from Germany has been finalised. If successful, the 10 suspected Somali pirates will face trial in Germany.

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