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Spanish Navy to Investigate Alleged Pirate-Hijacked Vessel, EUNAVFOR States

© Photo x / @EUNAVFORVessel RUEN that was allegedly attacked by pirates on December 15, 2023.
Vessel RUEN that was allegedly attacked by pirates on December 15, 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 16.12.2023
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In late November, the European Union's Somali counter-piracy force intercepted a fishing dhow off the coast of Puntland, Somalia, allegedly abducted by pirates.
A Spanish navy ship is "proceeding fast" towards a commercial vessel flying the flag of Malta that is believed to have been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, the European Union's Somali counter-piracy force (EUNAVFOR) said on Friday.
Mukhtar Mohamud, a member of a group that previously assisted in organizing ship raids, told the Western media that his pirate friends managed to capture the ship, and they intend to transport it to the eastern coast of Puntland state.
According to the EUNAVFOR, the Spanish frigate Victoria was dispatched to the scene in order to "to gain more awareness & evaluate following actions" in coordination with the Combined Maritime Forces, a 38-nation maritime partnership based in Bahrain.
Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy take part in a ceremony as a replenishment ship sets sail to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, from a naval port in Qingdao, Shandong province, China September 3, 2020 - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 21.07.2023
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Earlier on Friday, a British maritime body, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, announced that it had received a report from a ship's security officer who believed that the crew was no longer in control of a vessel that was now sailing toward Somalia. However, all members of the ship were reported to be safe.
The number of attacks off the Somali coast that peaked in 2011, when 160 attacks were recorded, has dropped dramatically to just eight in the seven years between 2016 and 2022 due to the global naval crackdown, according to the Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform.
The Gulf of Aden, the Guardafui Channel, the Somali Sea, Somali territorial seas, and other nearby locations are all suffering from pirate activity off the coast of Somalia. It began as a threat to international fishing vessels in the early 2000s and quickly escalated and spread to international shipping due to political crisis in the country.
Despite a significant drop in the number of the attacks, long-term solutions are needed to address the root of the problem: political instability and the ongoing war in Somalia, as stated by the UN.
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