Indians escape the pirates. The Swedish Navy in action

(BRUSSELS2) 14 Indian sailors were rescued and brought to safety, overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, by the Swedish ship Carlskrona (member of the European force Eunavfor Atalanta) - in liaison with the Dutch ship HNLMS Van Speijk (member of the NATO Ocean Shield force) after their dhow was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Attack led by 12 pirates

The captain of the Indian dhow (Shaahi al Nuuri) sounded the alarm on Wednesday (June 5) afternoon (16:30 p.m. local time), while sailing off the northern coast of Somalia, saying it was under attack by 12 armed pirates. The Carlskrona, which was on patrol in the Gulf of Aden, then headed towards the ship.

A first reconnaissance - carried out by the helicopter on board - confirmed the presence of pirates on board. When night fell, he kept a constant watch on the suspect vessel But "at a distance, so as not to compromise the lives of the hostages says a senior Swedish officer.

The pressure on pirates

The Pirates, " under increasing pressure from the military – we say at the HQ of Atalanta – then understood that they had lost. As one officer explained, the identification of the ship as well as its tracking of the dhow lost its usefulness as a mother ship”. They then forced the captain to approach the Somali coast and then abandoned the ship in the middle of the night. The ship's captain then reported the departure. And a visiting team from the Swedish Navy was able to board to secure the ship. No injuries to report.

A still real threat

For the Head of the EU Naval Force Operation, British Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant: “ This latest attack shows once again that the threat of piracy is real. We must all remain vigilant. » Earlier in the week - according to our information - several suspicious "approaches" in the Gulf of Aden had been reported, but without firing or attempted boarding.