MV Taipan, a German-flagged and owned 12.612-dwt container ship bound for Mombasa from Djibouti was attacked and seized by pirates on April 5th, 500 nautical miles east off the Somali coast, EU NAVFOR Somalia news release said.
A Pirate Attack Group (PAG) got onboard the MV Taipan. As the pirates boarded the ship the MV Taipan crew followed EU NAVFOR Best Management Practice, retreated to a secure strong room and locked themselves in; they were able to stop all engines and thereby disable the ship, before alerting EU NAVFOR that the ship had been taken. HNLMS Tromp was sent immediately to the scene and located the pirated ship.
Initially HNMLS Tromp attempted to negotiate with the pirates to avoid casualties but when it became clear that the pirates intended resisting, HNMLS Tromp launched a highly professional operation to recapture the ship. Marines from the TROMP have now boarded and retaken control of the ship from the pirates. The crew of 13 (2 German, 3 Russian and 8 Sri Lankan nationals) have been released unharmed. 10 pirates have been taken into custody.