Estonian snipers helped disarm two attack boats attached to a hijacked Arabian vessel aboard which pirates have been holding sailors hostage for more than a year.
"Snipers from the Estonian [team] on board the FS Nivose proved vital to reinforcing this order," a statement from the European Naval Force said.
It has been two weeks since a new 10-member team from the Estonian Navy joined the French warship FS Nivose in the EU's anti-pirating mission Atalanta.
On May 13, a German reconnaissance aircraft identified the pirate vessel, which is suspected of carrying out attacks in the Arabian Sea. "She was considered to pose a very real threat to merchant shipping in the area," the press release wrote.
Later that day, the FS Nivose, accompanied by a helicopter, confronted the vessel, Yeltub, ordering the pirates to surrender. Instead, the perpetrators ignored warning shots and set course back toward Somalia.
The FS Nivose did not launch a full-scale offensive out of fear that the hostages would be harmed. But after EU forces carried out lengthy talks with those aboard the Arabian vessel, the pirates eventually abandoned their two attack boats before departing.
The Estonian Navy has been participating in the Atalanta mission since last year. The first 10-member team returned home in March after serving on the German frigate Hamburg. They did not have any direct contact with pirates during their tour.
Rašyti komentarą