EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

The MV Theresa VIII, a Virgin Islands owned, Kiribati Flagged, chemical tanker with a crew of 28 and deadweight of 22, 294 tonnes,  has been released by pirates on 16 March 2010. Hijacked in the Somali Basin, 180 MILES North West of the Seychelles, on 17 November 2009, she has been held in the pirate stronghold of Haradera, on the Somali coast.

An unknown ransom was exchanged on the morning of 16 March and the ship is now underway and heading out to sea. No immediate assistance has been requested but EU NAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation.

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.