On Tuesday November 17th 2009 an EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft stationed at the Seychelles detected three suspected pirate skiffs approximately 300 nautical miles north of Seychelles and another two suspected pirate skiffs to the east of that position.
EU NAVFOR Greek warship HS Adrias was tasked to intercept and neutralize the suspected pirate groups. On the morning of the 18th November the Adrias boarding team sighted two attack skiffs and one ‘motherskiff’. They intercepted and boarded the group containing 10 men and all pirate related paraphernalia, including excess skiffs, were seized.
Following this event, and with support of an EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Adrias continued the intercept of the other suspect group. Two skiffs and a mother ship were intercepted with a total of five suspected pirates. This group was also neutralized; this action continues towards disrupting piracy in this vast sea area where pirates had been known to operate and hijack ships before.
HS Adrias and the Maritime Patrol Aircraft take part in the EU NAVFOR mission Operation ATALANTA.
The main tasks of Operation ATALANTA are to escort merchant vessels carrying food of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), the protection of vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.