Latest piracy news (February 26, 2012) (Update)

(BRUSSELS2) Few attacks reported this week by anti-piracy forces deployed in the Indian Ocean apart from that of an oil tanker east of the International Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden. 7 ships and 191 hostages are still in the hands of Somali pirates, according to the European anti-piracy HQ "Atalanta"; this figure, however, does not take into account the dhows and fishing boats captured.

Latest piracy news (last days):

• Trial of pirates in Kenya in March
• Lexie case: the weapons seized
• The cost of piracy, a smokescreen?
• Judgment of the Pirates: Solutions from London
• Operation Atalanta extended until 2014. Possible extension to beaches (Maj2)
• More than 1000 hackers prosecuted since 2006, latest report

Thwarted attack on an oil tanker in the eastern Gulf of Aden

An oil tanker, Mv North Sea, was attacked east of the International Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden, at 13° North and 50° East, on 22 February. A pirate attack group operating from a boat with a yellow hull with a red stripe approached the Singapore-flagged ship at high speed. The distress signal sent by radio was received 5 out of 5 by the FGS Berlin, the German tanker which operates within the European anti-piracy force Eunavfor Atalanta which sent its two helicopters Sea King on the area, then a boarding party. The ship repelled the pirate attack, thanks to its private security team on board. The 8 suspects surrendered immediately, according to the German sailors, and were transferred aboard the FGS Berlin for investigation. (Maj) Given the lack of evidence, the suspects were released and left near the Somali coast, in agreement with the command of Atalanta, specifies one with the HQ of the German navy.

The Infanta Elena as a reinforcement for Atalanta

Two days ahead of its initial schedule, the Spanish corvette "Infanta Elena" joined the EU anti-piracy operation (Eunavfor Atalanta). The Spanish corvette - which had left Cartagena on February 14, then after a logistics stopover at the Souda Bay naval base (Crete), crossed the Suez Canal on the 23rd - was due to join the European operation on the 27th, specifies the Spanish General Staff.But faced with the need to ensure the safe arrival the arrival in Djibouti of a ship carrying aid World Food Program humanitarian aid, the operations command (MOPS) asked the Spanish ship to ensure its incorporation into the operation as soon as possible.Thus, on February 25, the merchant ship "Eugenia B", loaded with humanitarian aid, crossed the Red Sea, near the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, escorted. This is the second time the "Infanta Elena" takes part in Operation Atalanta. The first was during the same period last year, in 2011, during the inter-monsoon, a period of maximum threat because the waters of the Indian Ocean are relatively calm. The ship is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Tomás Dolarea Fernández and has 104 soldiers on board, including 11 Marines who form the Operational Security Team (EOS).