On 11 November, the Yemeni dhow AL JABAL was handed-over by the Commanding Officer of the FGS KOELN to the Yemen Coast Guard for return to its owner after it had been stolen to be used as a pirate mother-ship. The dhow had been taken by a group of Somali pirates and was detected in the vicinity of a number of failed pirate attacks before a compliant boarding was made by the KOELN to regain control.
Engineers from the German warship carried out repairs to the engine and divers cut away a rope caught around the propeller to increase the speed of the dhow for the transit to Yemen; following a rendezvous with the Yemeni Coast Guard cutter P1029, off the port of Al Mukalla, the dhow and her two crew members were able to return home.
EU NAVFOR conducts counter-piracy in the Indian Ocean and is responsible for the protection of World Food Program ships carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Somalia and the logistic support vessels of the African Union troops conducting Peace Support Operations in Somalia. Additionally, EU NAVFOR monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , November 15, 2011; Image: Eunavfor