The stability of the waters of the Indian Ocean, which for years were the territory of pirates who attacked commercial ships, is threatened after years of surveillance work by the European Naval Force. As confirmed in a statement, the frigate Victoria had to move towards the maritime coordinates of the Navibulgar, a ship “allegedly kidnapped by pirates” in Somali waters. In the information they have explained that the Spanish warship has to approach to “become aware” of what has happened and “evaluate the following actions to be carried out.” In addition, they are in coordination with the Coordinated Maritime Force.
The alert was raised last Thursday, as reported by the European Naval Force, when an alert was received of a possible hijacking of the merchant ship, which was sailing at that time 500 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra. They do acknowledge that at the moment the data they have is not very illuminating and that the Victoria is almost two days’ navigation away from the coordinates they have provided. The ship that has requested help is a Bulgarian cargo ship, belonging to Navibulgar, the largest shipping company in the country, with a fleet of 70 ships, and has the Maltese flag. The ship was last seen in open sea sailing towards Somalia at 11:17 this Friday, according to LSEG ship tracking data. Britain’s maritime body UKMTO told Reuters it had received a report from a ship safety officer who believed the crew were no longer in control of a ship heading towards Somalia.
If confirmed, this would be the first hijacking involving Somali pirates in years after international navies’ anti-piracy efforts halted such seizures in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. At the height of piracy in the region, in January 2011, piracy networks held up to 736 hostages and 32 ships.
The European Union’s Operation Atalanta is behind the success of security in Indian Ocean waters. Deployed since 2008 in an operation to support the Horn of Africa, in 2022 the presence of European ships was extended until December 2024. Their missions include protecting ships belonging to the World Food Program (WFP) and other vulnerable vessels transiting the region; deter, prevent and suppress piracy and armed robbery in the Area of ??Operations; monitor fishing activities in the Horn of Africa and the western Indian Ocean; combat drug trafficking and contribute to the arms embargo on Somalia, the illicit trade in charcoal and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (“IUU fishing”).
Spain contributes to this mission with 350 troops and a warship and is one of the few countries that has collaborated uninterruptedly with the mission. The frigate Victoria relieved the Navarra last October after four months of navigation. It is precisely the Spanish ship that has received the order to approach Navibulgar, being the closest to this commercial ship.
