Suspected Pirate News

The European Union's counter piracy force has deployed a warship to the coast off Somalia after a suspected pirate group tried to target ships in the area, maritime sources said on Wednesday.Armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu on Monday, firing at the vessel after attempting to board the ship in the first suspected Somali piracy incident of its kind since 2024, maritime sources said.The attack and other incidents have raised concerns for the shipping lane through which critical energy and goods are transported to global markets.A Seychelles-flagged fishing

China said on Monday (March 31) that all crew members who went missing over the weekend after a suspected pirate attack on their Ghanian-registered fishing vessel are now “safe”.“China will continue to work with Ghana to safeguard the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Ghana,” foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference.Seven armed people boarded the ship and fired warning shots shortly before 1800 GMT on Thursday (March 27), the West African nation’s military said in a statement…

Three Chinese nationals were missing from Ghanaian waters and believed to have been kidnapped after a "suspected pirate attack" on their Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel, the West African nation's military said on Saturday.Seven armed people boarded the ship and fired warning shots shortly before 6 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday, the military said in a statement, adding that they had stayed on board for about three hours while some crew members hid.After the suspected pirates left and the crew came out of hiding…

A Spanish navy ship is sailing at full speed towards a Maltese-flagged commercial vessel that may have been hijacked by pirates off Somalia, the European Union's Somali counter piracy force said on Friday.If confirmed, it would be the first successful hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.EUNAVFOR's joint operations centre in Spain said it received an alert on Thursday about the "alleged pirate-hijacked vessel" Ruen, which was approximately 500 nautical miles east of Socotra Isl

Following the incident in the Gulf of Guinea on 24 November involving the Danish frigate Esben Snare and a suspected pirate vessel, BIMCO calls on all naval forces in the area to further increase the pressure on piracy groups and hopes a continued naval presence will act as a deterrent.According to the Danish Armed Forces, Danish frigate Esben Snare has been involved in an incident involving suspected pirates on 24 November in the waters south of Nigeria. The Danish navy further announced that the frigate was close enough to send a team to the suspected pirates with the aim to board…

On November 3 the Stena Imperial reported a suspected pirate approach while on northbound passage through the Red Sea west of Yemen on her way from Far East to Rotterdam for discharge.Two suspicious skiffs were found approaching Stena Imperial from the port side at a distance of 1.5 nautical miles. The alarm was raised and the Master and the on board security team mustered on the bridge. Hand flares were fired towards the skiffs as warning shot as they were continuously approaching towards the vessel.

EU NAVFOR military personnel seized an active Pirate Action Group (PAG) whaler and destroyed it on Sunday, October 28, 2018This followed a sustained period of surveillance after a piracy attack was conducted against the Hong Kong-flagged Bulk Carrier KSL Sydney on October 16, 340 Nm off the coast of Somalia.Rear Admiral Alfonso Perez de Nanclares, the EU NAVFOR Force Commander, ordered counter-piracy forces to the area for further investigation. EU NAVFOR Spanish Maritime Patrol…

On Thursday 8 January, a counter-piracy exercise was carried out jointly by the Seychelles Coast Guard, Air Force and Police together with the EU Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta-, and the EU’s civilian maritime security capacity building Mission, EUCAP Nestor. The purpose of the exercise was twofold; firstly, to practice cooperation between the Coast Guard, Air Force, the Police and EUNAVFOR Atalanta a joint counter-piracy operation, and secondly to test procedures and routines linked to effective processing of suspected pirates and evidence handling at sea.

Suspected pirate vessel off Angola. Dryad Maritime - a UK-based maritime intelligence firm - says situation has not changed since yesterday. Dryad Maritime is warning of the possible hijack of a Liberian flagged tanker MT Kerala. The vessel, owned by Dynacom Tankers, has been reported as missing off the coast of Angola, having last been sighted seven nautical miles NNW of Luanda. The tanker’s disappearance may represent a significant extension of maritime crime emanating from the Gulf of Guinea region, most probably from Nigerian criminal gangs.

On Friday 10 January, the Seychelles Coast Guard, Air Force and Police Force, together with the EU Naval Force Somalia - Operation Atalanta and EUCAP Nestor, carried out a counter-­piracy exercise in the Seychelles. The exercise involved the boarding of a suspected pirate skiff that had attacked a local fishing boat. The 'pirates' were disarmed and taken into custody, along with evidence from the skiff. The Seychelles Coast Guard then handed over the pirates and evidence to the Police Force.

Royal Australian Navy ship, HMAS Melbourne, has intercepted alleged pirates off the coast of Somalia as part of maritime security patrols in Middle Eastern waters for Operation SLIPPER. The suspected pirates were intercepted on October 15, 2013 after the Combined Maritime Forces received two reports of attempted acts of piracy against two separate merchant vessels during the previous four days. Under the direction of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF151), HMAS Melbourne was appointed as on-scene commander for a multi-national search operation…

As the monsoon in the NW Indian Ocean begins to subside and the weather once again becomes conducive to the operation of small pirate skiffs, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has urged Masters not to be complacent as they transit the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It has called for vessels to remain alert and apply the Best Management Practices (BMP), including its reporting requirements, as it transits the area. Overall this year the attacks have fallen to 10, a trend which is attributed to the vital action of the naval vessels engaged in anti-piracy operations…

EUCAP Nestor, EU Naval Force and the Seychelles Coast Guard carried out a joint counter-piracy exercise in the Seychelles on April 26. The exercise involved a mock interception of a suspected pirate skiff in Seychelles waters by the combined efforts of EU NAVFOR and the Seychelles Coast Guard. The Coast Guard vessel, Topaz, and a helicopter from French Navy ship, LHD Tonnerre, operating under EU NAVFOR flag, jointly intervened against a suspected pirate skiff. The purpose of the exercise was to enhance coordination and cooperation between the Seychelles Coast Guard and EU NAVFOR as well as further develop the Coast Guard in procedures for evidence handling. “This exercise was a perfect example of our partnership with the Seychelles and EU NAVFOR,” said Admiral Launay.

New report reveals boom in private military security forces fighting Indian Ocean pirates. Research into the use of private military security companies in the Indian Ocean has found the fight against Somali-based pirates has become a private battle as global defence cuts reduce naval counter-piracy deployments. The report, 'Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean's Private Security Boom'  sheds new light on the serious problem of Somali piracy and highlights new problems…

During the reporting period of 05 to 11 April 2012 there was one hijacking (which was subsequently freed), one attack and one suspicious approach in the high risk area (HRA). As it is now the monsoon transition period and the sea states continue to be favourable for small boats, it is expected that (PAG) activity will continue to increase. No incidents in – Southern Red Sea (SRS)/Bab Al Mandeb (BAM) / Gulf of Aden (GOA)/Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) over the past week.

NATO disrupts pirate mother ship responsible for the attack on MV Montecristo. Following NATO's successful release of the pirated Italian merchant vessel, MV Montecristo, earlier last week, the naval units contributing to NATO's counter piracy operation succeeded in locating and disrupting the suspected pirate mother ship responsible for the attack. Successful coordination of military assets and information sharing amongst naval units operating in the region made it possible to locate the pirate dhow which was stopped whilst heading towards the Somali coast.

Further analysis of the approach by a suspected pirate skiff to the MV EJNAN in the Gulf of Aden on 19 Jun indicates that the initial assessment that a pirate attack was underway was incorrect and that the VHF call made by the ship was not a distress call. EU NAVFOR regrets any misinterpretation of the situation and thanks the Master of the MV EJNAN for reporting the location of the skiff which resulted in the suspect pirates being apprehended and their piracy paraphernalia being removed.

On the morning of 10 June, the EU NAVFOR German warship FGS Niedersachsen detected a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG) whilst conducting a routine patrol in the Southern Somali Basin. The PAG, which is suspected of carrying out a number of attacks on merchant vessels in the area, consisted of a fishing dhow and 2 attack skiffs. Small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG)s were also seen on board. As the Dhow was considered to be a real threat to shipping in the area, the…

During the afternoon of the 13 May, the EU NAVFOR French warship FS Nivôse disrupted a Dhow that was suspected of being used as a Pirate Action Group (PAG) mothership since it was pirated over a year ago. The Dhow, which is suspected of having carried out several recent attacks in the Arabian Sea and which still has her original crew on board as hostages, was spotted by an EU NAVFOR German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) earlier the same day. Once identified, the Dhow was tracked by the MPRA which guided the FS Nivôse into position.

During the early morning of April 6, the EU NAVFOR Finnish warship FNS PohjanMAA identified a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG) consisting of a dhow and two attack skiffs approximately 250 NM South East of Salalah, Oman. The PAG is believed to have been responsible for an unsuccessful attack on a merchant vessel in the area the day before. When Pohjanmaa approached the PAG, the dhow tried to flee the scene and the suspected pirates were observed throwing equipment overboard. The Pohjanmaa was forced to fire warning shots to stop the dhow.

On the afternoon of 3 April 2011, the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship ESPS Infanta Elena, identified and boarded a suspected pirate whaler 89 Nautical miles South-East of Mombasa. The warship had received a short notice tasking to locate a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG) that had attacked a merchant vessel earlier the same day. On arriving in the area, the Infanta Elena found a whaler-type boat, which together with two attack skiffs, was suspected of being responsible for the earlier attack.

On 28 March 2011, the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship SPS Canarias disrupted a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG), consisting of a whaler-style boat and a skiff, 260 Nautical Miles North-West of the Seychelles after a fishing vessel reported the PAGs presence to the warship. Early morning on 28 March, the Seychellois flagged fishing vessel reported that a whaler and a skiff had approached her in a suspicious manner with automatic weapons and a Rocket Propelled Grenade(RPG) clearly visible.

U.S. Naval forces disrupted a pirate attack on M/V Falcon Trader II, a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, after it reported it had been attacked by pirates March 24. All 20 Filipino crew members of the Falcon Trader II are safe and in control of the vessel. At approximately 10:30 a.m. (local), aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), conducting operations supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, responded to a distress call from the M/V Falcon Trader II reporting that suspected pirates in a small skiff were attempting to board the vessel.