EUNAVFOR Corrals Pirate Action Group in Indian Ocean

Spanish forces liberate Hellas Aphrodite from pirates, Nov. 7 (EUNAVFOR)

After days of pursuit, forces with EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy have caught up with a pirate-occupied dhow in the Indian Ocean, containing the risk its operators posed to shipping.

"The Pirate Action Group (PAG) linked to recent incidents is being monitored closely by the Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA and there is currently no threat from this group to merchant vessels," the EU's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) said in a statement Sunday. "Vessels are advised to maintain general awareness."

According to maritime security consultancy Vanguard Tech, the pirates are still holding the dhow's crew of fishermen and have threatened to harm them. While the suspects pose no further risk to merchant shipping, they have refused to surrender, and the situation is ongoing.

The pirate group had been menacing shipping in the region for at least a week, and it came within reach of capturing foreign-flag seafarers as hostages just hours before EUNAVFOR responders arrived.

The product tanker Hellas Aphrodite was boarded November 6 at a position about 560 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, Somalia. The pirates approached and opened fire with small arms, then boarded. The master ordered the crew to hide in the citadel, where they remained while the pirates boarded.

Spanish frigate ESPS Victoria was operating in the region and responded, arriving November 7. After an "early show of force," the pirate action group abandoned the tanker and fled.

Pirates operating from the same dhow are suspected of making an approach to the LNG carrier Al Thumama on November 7, but the vessel was able to prevent the attackers from boarding, according to EOS Risk Group. Several other vessels may also have been approached by the same pirates earlier in the month, including fishing vessel Intertuna Tres, bulker Spar Apus and product tanker Stolt Sagaland.

In hijacking a dhow and pursuing targets on the high seas, the pirate action group used tactics familiar from the peak of Somali piracy in the early 2010s, when marauders ranged as far as the western coastal waters of India. Pirate activity in the region died down rapidly after 2012, when Western navies intervened and shipowners ramped up the use of armed guards, but has rebounded somewhat since Yemen's Houthi militia began launching large-scale attacks on shipping last year.