The revelation this week that the owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew was held by Somali pirates paid them $2.6 million in ransom is yet another indication that the rewards these denizens reap for their illegal, life-threatening work remain a serious stumbling block to ending maritime organized crime, according to AdvanFort Company President [...]
On May 8th the Somali Defence Minister and members of the Somali Cabinet visited the EU Naval Force Operation Headquarters in London. In view of the EU’s comprehensive approach to Somalia and its reinforced partnership with the country, the meeting was attended by the EU Naval Force Operation Commander, the Head of Mission of EUCAP [...]
Maritime piracy is both ageless as a threat as well as ductile in its dramatically changing nature both in and around the Indian Ocean and, increasingly, in other parts of the world. Somali piracy erupted in the western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and commercial vessels transiting the area frequently fell prey to the [...]
It has been a busy couple of days for EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez. The Spanish warship, which is conducting EU counter piracy patrols off the Somali coast, was once again able to provide much needed protection, this time to super tanker MV Smyrni, after the vessel was released from Somali [...]
A vessel’s crew hijacked almost three years ago by Somali pirates has been freed, says the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). After 1000 days in captivity the 22 remaining crew of the MV Iceberg 1 were freed as a result of a two-week operation by the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) in Garaad in the [...]
On Tuesday 7 August 2012 seven Somali men were found guilty by a Kenyan court of attempting to commit an act of piracy against a French fishing vessel, MV Captain St Vincent, off the Somali Coast in October 2009. Following the terrifying attack, the pirates, operating in 2 attack skiffs, were located by an EU [...]
Calmer waters seem to be on the horizon as the threat from Somali pirates is withering, NATO’s counter-piracy commander said, warning that the international forces shouldn’t lower their guard before the threat is completely removed. Speaking in figures, in the first half of 2012 the number of Somali pirate attacks equaled to 69, a 32% [...]
A report highlighting latest details of the plight of seafarers at the hands of Somali pirates was launched on Friday 22nd June at a press conference in London. The report, The Human Cost of Piracy 2011, is written jointly by Kaija Hurlburt of One Earth Future for its Oceans Beyond Piracy project and by the [...]
In the afternoon of June 12th, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Italian frigate Scirocco rescued a small fishing boat (skiff type) in distress with two Somali fishermen coming from the town of Alula, on the northern coast of Somalia, in the Bari region, who reported to be adrift since June 7th following an engine failure. [...]
Today the Republic of the Seychelles agreed to accept for prosecution 11 suspect pirates who were captured by EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) frigate HNLMS Van Amstel on Friday 11 May. The 11 suspect pirates had pirated an Iranian dhow with 17 innocent Iranian fishermen onboard at the beginning of May and it is thought [...]
