Pirates hold Chinese vessel, 18 crew in Somalia waters
Armed Somali pirates in Hobyo, northeastern Somalia, on January 4, 2010. Pirates caused havoc in the waters off Somalia's coastline between 2008 and 2018, and were dormant until late last year when it started to pick up again.
The European Union's anti-piracy naval force has confirmed a Chinese fishing vessel with 18 crew members has been seized by suspected pirates in Somalia's Puntland region.
The incident, which has been classified as “armed robbery at sea”, marks a resurgence of pirate activity in the area, which had been dormant since 2018.
In a statement on Thursday, Eunavfor Atalanta, the first naval operation conducted by the European Union (EU), said the pirates were armed with AK-47s and machine guns.
The anti-piracy force said after receiving an alert from the Puntland Maritime Police Force, Eunavfor Atalanta has been monitoring the vessel off the northeast coast of Puntland. The force said the fishing vessel has remained within Somalia territorial waters.
“Following the detection by Eunavfor Atalanta, assets have been in the vicinity of the Chinese fishing vessel to increase situational awareness and gather information, confirming that the fishing vessel is under the control of the alleged pirates, some of whom are carrying AK-47 and machine guns,” the statement read. “Eunavfor Atalanta is in permanent contact with the appropriate Somali and Chinese authorities, as well as with the delegation of the European Union to Somalia. The force remains vigilant to any piracy-related events in its area of operations to ensure maritime security.”
With the resurgence of piracy, the EU now recommends merchant and other vulnerable vessels to register in the MSCHOA's Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS), to provide the most effective monitoring and response by Atalanta forces and their partners in countering maritime security threats.
In May this year, the US and the EU intensified the fight against militant groups in the ocean as Kenya was picked as the second country, after Seychelles, to accept and prosecute suspects of maritime crimes.
Top economies have raised concern about the disruption of maritime trade in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis and the resurgence of piracy in Somalia, saying the illegal groups ought to be eliminated.
European Union Naval Force said that Kenya will assist Seychelles in handling maritime crime suspects due to the increasing cases reported.
EU Navfor says that two or more pirate groups are active in the area of Socotra Island and 500m East of Socotra in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden.
Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa country's long coastline between 2008 and 2018, and were dormant until late last year when piracy activity started to pick up again.
