EU NAVFOR has been informed that on Monday 1st of March a Merchant Vessel, the Saudi Arabia-flagged Product tanker, in ballast, AL NISR AL SAUDI with deadweight of 5,136 tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.

The ship was heading to Jeddah and has a crew of 14. The master of the ship is Greek and the rest of the crewmembers are from Sri Lanka. They are all believed to be well. The ship was outside the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) and was not registered on MSCHOA. The vessel is now in the vicinity of Garacad, a well know pirate stronghold. EU NAVFOR continues 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. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.