A frigate of the Spanish Navy goes to the rescue of a ship kidnapped by pirates in the Arabian Sea

2023-12-15 21:40:25

The frigate Victoria of the Spanish Navy went out this Friday to the rescue of a ship flying the Maltese flag that could have been kidnapped by pirates in the Arabian Sea. The Foreign Ministry assures that it has not been possible to establish contact with the ship’s crew and it is unknown who would be behind the alleged kidnapping.

Right now, the boat is heading towards the position where the ship suspected of having been kidnapped by pirates is located. This is the second episode in just a few weeks in which this Spanish vessel has participated, after another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel that had been assaulted by criminals was intercepted in this same space.

“Move quickly”

Spain participates with the frigate Victoria in the EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission, led by the European Union. This mission has reported on its social networks about the new episode with this message: “According to the first information available, the Spanish flag ship Victoria is rapidly advancing towards the alleged ship kidnapped by pirates to obtain more information and evaluate the following actions, also in coordination with the Bahraini Navy.

“The Rota Operations Center (Spain) received an alert yesterday about the alleged hijacking of the Maltese flag merchant ship RUEN, approximately 500 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra, in the northwest of the Indian Ocean,” he added.

On September 22, the frigate Victoria took over from Navarra in Operation Atalanta, which has been providing protection to merchant ships for fifteen years, including those of the World Food Program.

The mission of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), with headquarters in Rota (Cádiz), is focused on the fight against piracy in the waters of the Indian Ocean, close to Somalia, where criminals usually focus their activity.

The presence of military ships had prevented pirates from launching a new attempt in recent years, this was considered a dormant threat. Until now. No episode had been recorded in 2019.