EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

Over a period of 15 days, successful piracy of three merchant vessels has been prevented through their use of Best Management Practices, proving the value of such self-protection measures.

On 10 October, the MV KAVO PORTLAND, transiting approximately 1,000 nautical miles from the coast in the Somali Basin and the MV ANUKET JADE, transiting close to the Tanzanian coast, both reported they were attacked by groups of pirates using rocket propelled grenades or firing.

Both vessels altered course, increased speed or conducted evasive manoeuvres, as recommended in the Best Management Practices (BMPs) leaflet. These evasive actions dissuaded the pirates groups from carrying on the attack and the two merchant vessels evaded pirating.

On 28 September, the MV MISSISSIPPI STAR attacked 45 nautical miles from Tanzania, also succeeded in escaping from a pirates group firing at the vessel thanks to evasive actions.

These three vessels are the witnesses to the success of the scrupulous implementation of BMPs. These procedures have been compiled with the combined effort of 13 Industry Organisations, EU NAVFOR, the NATO Shipping Centre and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

These three stories once more prove the effectiveness of such measures against piracy.