A Spanish frigate together with an Indian warship has taken control of the pirate mothership that was involved in the attack on the tanker Hellas Aphrodite, early Thursday morning about 549 nautical miles east-southeast of Hobyo in Somalia.
The 50,000 DWT tanker was en route from Sikka in India to Durban in South Africa when it was fired upon by pirates in a small motorboat, which is believed to have been launched from the Iranian-flagged mothership, which EU-Navfor Atlanta has now taken control of.
The mothership, a dhow, was abandoned by the suspected pirates on Somalia’s northwestern coast. Marines have now searched the ship for pirates and freed the crew.
A medical team has examined the crew members, who are now safe and at liberty.
The marines have collected evidence on board, which together with the evidence collected on the Hellas Aphrodite, will be submitted to support the prosecution of the perpetrators.
EU-Navfor continues to work with the governments of Somalia and Puntland, to locate and arrest the pirates.
Operation Atlanta strongly recommends that all merchant vessels contact the voluntary registration scheme, to ensure the most effective monitoring and response from the naval force.
-mauh
