Operation Atalanta: the frigate Victoria and its special operations team rescue the crew of a ship attacked by pirates

•  The Spanish military freed the sailors from the Maltese-flagged merchant ship Hellas Aphrodite

Operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta has put an end to the act of piracy in the Indian Ocean involving the oil tanker Hellas Aphrodite and the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel (dhow) Issamohamdi. Both ships are now continuing their sailing. The dhow had previously been hijacked by pirates who were using it as a mother ship.

The flagship of Atalanta, the Spanish frigate Victoria, and the Special Operations Naval Team (SOMTU) participated in this rescue operation, all under the command of the EUNAVFOR Atalanta Operational Commander. In the final stage of this operation, a warship from the Indian Navy also participated, monitoring the dhow's navigation until it reached the Somali coast.

From the Victoria, an operation was launched to free the hostages on ship the Hellas Aphrodite, which had been hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. After surveying the merchant ship by drone, special operations marines secured the vessel and freed the crew after checking that there were no pirates on board.

A dhow hijacked as a mother ship to launch attacks

Once the merchant ship had been freed, Operation Atalanta focused her efforts on intercepting the mother ship from which the pirates were operating. This was an Iranian-flagged dhow-type fishing vessel named “Issamohamdi”, which had also been hijacked.

Finally, the Spanish frigate located the dhow Issamohamdi' again in international waters and was able to confirm that the pirates had abandoned the vessel and that the Iranian ship was now sailing freely.

The frigate Victoria continues her mission in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, where it will remain until the second half of February.