Overview
- Operation Atalanta said its assets closed in on the Hellas Aphrodite and the Spanish frigate Victoria led the action that freed the ship as the pirates fled.
- All 24 seafarers are reported safe after remaining in the vessel’s citadel throughout the boarding.
- Authorities reported the attackers used machine guns and rocket‑propelled grenades and deployed from skiffs launched by the seized Iranian fishing vessel Issamohahmdi.
- The EU task force employed a drone and Victoria’s helicopter near 700 nautical miles off Somalia as the tanker transited from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa.
- UKMTO warned of another suspicious approach in the same area hours later, and a separate attack on the chemical tanker Stolt Sagaland earlier this week was repelled by its security team.