EU NAVFOR SOMALIA – Attack of the MV ANATOLIAN off the coast of Somalia
Rota, August 18th, 2021. – Last Friday, August 13th, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA Joint Operation Centre received an alert according to which the motor vessel (MV) ANATOLIAN (IMO 9005869) was under attack by a skiff with 4/5 armed persons on board. Reportedly, the skiff attempted to approach the vessel and opened fire with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). One of these RPG caused damage in the vicinity of the bridge. After almost two hours of exchange of fire between the assailants and the Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on board, the attackers returned to shore. There were no injuries on board the MV, which continued its route and arrived at the port of Mogadishu on August 14th.
The attack was monitored by EU NAVFOR ATALANTA JOC – Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA), sharing information with UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), from the moment MV reported the incident. EU NAVFOR ATALANTA was prepared to assist with assets and capabilities deployed in the area of operations in close coordination with UKMTO and the Combined Maritime Force (CMF). Finally, no direct intervention was necessary.
Although piracy and robbery at sea in Somalia has been deterred and suppressed, this incident demonstrates that these crimes are not eradicated. Therefore, CSOs and Masters are strongly recommended to register their vessels with EU NAVFOR – MSCHOA when entering the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) and to report any incidents to UKMTO in accordance with Best Management Practices, Revision 5 (BMP5).
