The Evertsen will miss the turkey because of these "damn" pirates

(BRUSSELS2) The sailors of the Dutch ship, Evertsen (F805) risk missing the Christmas turkey! The 13 hackers they arrested in early December after the BBC Togo attack (read: Atalanta flagship arrests 13 pirates off Oman) are still on board.

No European state wants it. And the states in the region are not very hot either. The arrest occurred not far from Oman (1); the agreement with the Seychelles can therefore not really play a role. Tanzania, which was more directly concerned (the pirates had attacked a Tanzanian fishing boat and taken two fishermen hostage) was approached but declined the offer. Kenya remains. But we are not really within the framework of the agreement either ("off Somalia"). And the country is anyway, more and more, pulling the ear to accept new pirates. According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, however, the negotiations are well advanced (2). In the absence of this solution, we could fall back on the traditional French solution - putting the pirates back in Puntland (handing over carried out not at EU level but at national level) - or even releasing them (a solution which the Atalanta HQ in Northwood). To be continued.

The Evertsen has just completed a 4-month mission in the Indian Ocean where it assumed the role of flagship. He was to hit the road this Sunday after handing over command to Italian ship Etna taking over. For an assessment of the anti-piracy action during the Dutch command.

(NVP)

(1) The EU does not have an agreement with Oman.
(2) A European troika was in Nairobi on Thursday, led by the Swedish Minister for Development Gunilla Carlsson, for a meeting with the Foreign Minister on various subjects including the Kenyan constitution and the point was thus able to be addressed at the highest level.