EU NAVFOR – ATALANTA / Two european ships hijacked
MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 28, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Two European-owned chemical tankers have been captured by Somali pirates in the past 48 hours.
The 9 000-tonne Greek-owned and Panama-registered NIPAYIA was attacked 450 miles east of the southern Somali port of Kismayo on Wednesday afternoon and the BOW ASIR, a 23 000-tonne, Norwegian-owned and Bahamian-registered ship, was seized 250 miles east of Kismayo on Thursday morning.
The European Union points out that ships are strongly recommended to register with the website of the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa and that the EU naval taskforce EU NAVFOR ATALANTA also advises ships to remain more than 600 miles off the Somali coast wherever possible.
EU NAVFOR ATALANTA operates in a zone that comprises the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and part of the Indian Ocean, a vast expanse of water comparable in size to the Mediterranean.
The EU is warning merchant navies of the increase in acts of piracy in the south and east of this region and is doing everything possible to assist them in the event of an attack, irrespective of the zone in which it occurs. But, in order to ensure that they are familiar with the arrangements in place and that they can take advantage – in certain cases – of close military protection, thereby reducing the risk of pirate attack or capture, the EU invites them to follow EU NAVFOR’s advice and register in advance with the site of the Maritime Security Centre.
Eight frigates and two aircraft are currently participating in Operation EU NAVFOR ATALANTA set up to contribute to the deterrence, prevention and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast. A number of other naval forces are also deployed permanently or temporarily in this zone, complementing the efforts of EU NAVFOR ATALANTA: CTF151, the NATO maritime group, and Russian, Indian, Japanese and Chinese ships.
SOURCE : EU NAVFOR ATALANTA
