EU NAVFOR Transports Pirate Suspects for Prosecution
Suspect Pirates Apprehended by EU Naval Force Flagship Transferred To The Seychelles. On 29 January 2014, international collaboration in the fight against piracy resulted in the transfer of five men by the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta flagship, FS Siroco, to the Republic of Seychelles, with the aim of prosecuting them for acts of piracy. On Saturday 18 January, FS Siroco, in cooperation with Japanese assets in support of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF/CTF 151)…
EU to Lead International Counter Piracy Efforts in 2014
From the January 1, 2014 the European Union will assume for one year the chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) with Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) as EU chairperson. The chairmanship of the Contact Group is a joint Endeavour of the EEAS and the European Commission and will continue the work carried out in 2013 under the chairmanship of the United States. While the number of hostages has gone down from more than 700 in 2011 to around 50 today, the European Union said it is strongly committed to bringing this number down to zero: zero ships and zero seafarers in the hands of Somali pirates.
