Ejnan

Confusion reigns, as it appears a reported attack on an LNG carrier was not actually an attack at all. Rather it was some form of “misunderstanding”. The “Ejnan” was supposedly threatened by a pirate skiff in the Gulf of Aden while on route to Italy from Qatar, EU Navfor had said in an initial statement. EUNAVFOR now says that a VHF call put out by the ship’s Master was, “misinterpreted as a distress call” after the vessel reported sighting a suspected pirate vessel nearby. The closest point of approach of the reported pirate skiff was approximately 1.7 miles away. Which doesn’t actually seem much of an attack by any standards, but EU forces intercepted the men and found “piracy paraphernalia” on board but without evidence of a crime they were forced to turn the four men loose. It is understood that the naval forces actually gave them a smaller engine to prevent further attacks and supplied with just enough food and water to reach home.

EU NAVFOR Flag Ship, Portuguese frigate VASCO DA GAMA disrupted on June 19th, a skiff which was suspected of launching an attack on MV EJNAN in the Gulf of Aden earlier that day, EUNAVFOR press release said. The Portuguese warship intercepted a distress call from the MV EJNAN reporting that it was being attacked by a skiff. The VASCO DA GAMA was immediately tasked to proceed to the area in order to investigate the incident. During her approach, radio contact was maintained and several recommendations were passed to the merchant vessel trying to repel the attack. By following these directions the vessel fended off the pirates and reported being safe. The helicopter from EU NAVFOR British warship HMS RICHMOND, which was also tasked to respond, spotted the skiff which contained four suspected pirates. The individuals onboard realized that they had been located and began to throw the majority of their piracy paraphernalia overboard. The helicopter passed the position of the skiff to VASCO DA GAMA as she was the closest warship in the area. A few minutes later, VASCO DA GAMA’s own helicopter intercepted the skiff and the boarding team was sent onboard.