EU forces have completed a landmark raid on a pirate camp on the Somali coast.
A number of pirate skiffs were destroyed after the helicopter assault this morning, EU Navfor says.
While the counter-piracy task force explains it is too early to judge how successful the attack has been, it confirms no Somali casualties occurred.
Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, operation commander of the EU Naval Force, said: “We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates’ efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows.
“The local Somali people and fishermen – many of whom have suffered so much because of piracy in the region, can be reassured that our focus was on known pirate supplies and will remain so in the future.”
Potts points out no EU boots went ashore at any point during the assault.
Today’s action comes a couple of months after Brussels opened the door for action against pirate groups on land.
A spokesperson for EU Navfor says it is too soon to judge if the hit will change the way pirates operate.
EU Navfor’s act has proven popular among industry groups.
The International Chamber of Shipping says it welcomes the “apparently bloodless action”.
“This is consistent with our long held belief that governments need to task the military to take attack to the pirates, while maintaining if not increasing the military protection of merchant ships in the Indian Ocean,” it said.
Dave Heindel, chairman of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, praises what he calls a timely, considered and professional operation.
“We hope that it will be followed by many more disruptive actions,” he said.
“Limited though the effects of any one single operation can be, it sets a precedent for future actions.
“It is particularly welcome in a week that has seen increased use of weapons and violence by pirates.”
