Turks and Romanians, helped by Swedes and Luxembourgers, arrest 9 pirates

(BRUSSELS2) The Turkish frigate TGC Gemlik intercepted, under the flag of CTF 151 (the coalition of ships led by the Americans in the Gulf of Aden), a "pirates" skiff about 420 nautical miles east of Mogadishu , announces the HQ of this operation based in Bahrain. Detected overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday morning (November 20/21) by a Swedish maritime patrol aircraft from the European force Eunavfor, the two buildings closest to the source, the TGC Gemlik and the Romanian ship King Ferdinand of Romania (Eunavfor Atalanta) set off in pursuit. A Luxembourg maritime patrol aircraft maintained surveillance until the Gemlik was ready enough to send an S-70 Sea Hawk helicopter to the scene at daybreak. The boat had tried to escape for an hour before giving up. 9 suspects were therefore intercepted by the Turkish navy and handed over to the ship Regele Ferdinand in order to recover all the information necessary for their indictment. The skiff was destroyed. A great international cooperation in perspective.

For Rear Admiral Potts, Commander of the European Force Operations, this international effort is important. "Jam glad to see that through the combined efforts of the anti-piracy forces in the region (...) the pirates were quickly found and their boat destroyed ". Before adding that it was nevertheless “ an indication that pirates still intend to put to sea and that everyone involved in counter-piracy, whether military or industry, must remain vigilant and prepared ».