A Turkish-flagged Ro-Ro cargo ship became subject of a piracy attack while underway off Somalia on Friday, 13 August, according to information provided by EU NAVFOR.
As reported, the EU NAVFOR ATALANTA Joint Operation Centre received an alert according to which the MV ANATOLIAN was under attack by a skiff with 4-5 armed persons onboard. Reportedly, the skiff attempted to approach the vessel and opened fire with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). One of these RPG caused damage in the vicinity of the bridge.
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After almost two hours of exchange of fire between the assailants and the Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel onboard, the attackers returned to shore. There were no injuries onboard the ship, which continued its route and arrived at the port of Mogadishu on August 14th.
The attack was monitored by EU NAVFOR ATALANTA JOC – Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA), sharing information with UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). Finally, no direct intervention was necessary.
Although piracy and robbery at sea in Somalia has been deterred and suppressed, this incident demonstrates that these crimes are not eradicated. Therefore, CSOs and Masters are strongly recommended to register their vessels with EU NAVFOR – MSCHOA when entering the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) and to report any incidents to UKMTO in accordance with Best Management Practices, Revision 5 (BMP5),
…EUNAVFOR advised.
The news coincides with an announcement earlier this week by major shipping groups, including BIMCO, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO, and OCIMF, that geographic boundaries of the ‘High Risk Area’ for piracy in the Indian Ocean will be reduced amid a continued downward trend in Somali piracy.