Two Crewmembers Wounded In Pirate Attack
The ORIENTAL ROSE, a South Korean owned chemical tanker, was fired upon Monday in the Gulf of Aden.
The tanker was shot at by an unidentified vessel off the Somali coast, injuring two crewmembers. Gunshots broke glass onboard cutting two crewmembers.
A Chinese warship is now escorting the vessel to its original destination of Kandla, India.
The ship has a crew of 21: 19 Filipinos and 2 South Koreans.
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Recent Piracy News Reported by EU NAVFOR:
12/12/2010: MV RENUAR Pirated in the Indian Ocean
In the early hours of 11 December, the MV RENUAR was pirated in the Indian Ocean, 
approximately 1050 nautical miles east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl and a distance of 550 nautical miles from the coast of India.
The attack was launched from 2 attack skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel. Since the attack, the pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading West towards the Somali Coast.
The MV RENUAR is a Panama flagged, Liberian owned bulk cargo vessel, with a deadweight of 70,156 tonnes, and was en route to Fujairah (UAE) from Port Louis (Mauritius), when pirated. The 24 man Filipino crew attempted to evade the pirates for some time causing the pirates to make several determined attacks before finally boarding the vessel. There are presently no communications with the ship and the condition of the crew is not known.
12/11/2010: Pirated MV ELENI P Released
On 11 December 2010, the Liberian-flagged MV ELENI P was released from pirate control.
The MV ELENI P, a Greek-owned bulk carrier, deadweight 72,119 tons, was pirated on 12 May 2010 approximately 250 nautical miles off the Omani coast. The MV ELENI P has a crew of 23, of which 19 are Filipinos, 2 are Greek, one Ukrainian and one Romanian.
12/10/ 2010: MV PANAMA pirated in the far South of the Somali Basin
On the afternoon of 10 December, the MV PANAMA was pirated by 2 armed skiffs with a total of 5 pirates on board. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border.
This extreme Southerly attack in the Somali Basin is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity.
The MV PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by a US based company, with a crew of 23 (all from Myanmar). She was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred. There is no news of the condition of the crew and EUNAVFOR are monitoring the situation.
12/10/2010: MV UNITED STAR escapes pirating thanks to the use of Best Management Practices
On 10 December 2010, the MV UNITED STAR reported it was under attack, approximately 500 nautical miles North East of Salalah (Oman).
“Officers on watch identified and targeted a suspicious vessel”, explained the ship’s owner. “At a distance of 3 nautical miles from the port bow a skiff was deployed from the suspicious vessel.”
The master of the crude oil tanker immediately initiated evasive manoeuvres.
“The skiff with four armed pirates carrying unidentified fire arms managed to come alongside and attempted to board the vessel with the use of portable ladders with hooks. The attempt was unsuccessful due to the evasive manoeuvres that the Master exercised”.
This vessel is a further witness to the success of the scrupulous implementation of BMPs. These procedures have been compiled with the combined effort of 13 Industry Organisations, EUNAVFOR, the NATO Shipping Centre and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
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SOURCE: EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EU NAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. In addition, EU NAVFOR monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.