Cargo ship in suspected piracy attack off Somalia

EU NAVFOR ATALANTA said that it confirmed an alert on a suspected pirate attack on the Liberian-flagged, 17,809 dwt, general cargo ship Basilisk on 23 May.

The incident took place while the vessel was sailing approximately 380 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia, heading north.

“One of ATALANTA warships in the vicinity has been the first actor to respond. EUNAVFOR ATALANTA is taking the appropriate actions to respond effectively and promptly to this alert,” it said.

There are no further details of the suspected piracy attack.

It is the second attack in the region this month. EU forces handed over six suspected pirates involved in an attack on the Marshall Islands registered tanker Chrystal Arctic on 10 May to the authorities in Seychelles for prosecution.

There have been growing concerns over a resurgence of Somali piracy this year with EU NAVFOR saying that two or more pirate action groups are active in the area of Socotra Island and 500nm East of Socotra. Currently the threat is classified as moderate with an attack is a “realistic possibility” off the Somali coast.

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