The Danish frigate of Esbern Snare with pirates in Gulf of Guinea

24 November Danish Navy frigate HDMS Esbern Snare (F342) Type Absalon fought pirates in the Gulf of Guinea waters as a result of which 4 attackers were killed and 4 were detained.

The ship was diverted to the pirate activity area, while at the same time sending an MH-60R helicopter to reconnaissance. The helicopter detected near commercial ships, a motor boat with eight men equipped with a number of piracy tools, including ladders. HDMS Esbern Snare upon entry near the detected unit, he launched intervention boats (RHIB) with boarding groups. Special Forces soldiers called on the boat to submit to control, however without a positive response.

When the boat refused to respond to the call, warning shots were fired to which the pirates responded, firing directly at the personnel located on the RHIBs. There was a short exchange of fire in which no Danish soldier suffered, but five pirates were shot, four of them died, and one of them was wounded. After the fire was exchanged, the motorboat sank and four surviving pirates and bodies killed were transported aboard the frigate, where the injured pirate received medical assistance.

The Danish government announced in March plans to deploy frigates to escort merchant ships and prevent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, in response to calls from the Danish shipping industry, to take action against pirate attacks in the region. On average, 40 Danish merchant ships flow through this area every day, most of which belong to Maersk based in Copenhagen, the world's largest shipping company.

HDMS Esbern Snare He left Denmark on 24 October and arrived in the region in early November to begin his mission, which would last until April 2022. The mission is attended by 175 people, including military police, naval special forces and an extended medical team. The mission is national, although the frigate will carry out capacity building activities with several African countries in the area.

Piracy in this area is a serious problem, and local naval efforts to prevent piracy have intensified, while a number of European countries, along with the United States, have sent anti-piracy missions to the region and help build the potential of nearby African states.

British OPV HMS Trent (P224) arrived in the region in early October for a three-month mission. France conducted multilateral sea safety exercises Grand African Nemo 2021 from 2 to 7 November in the Gulf of Guinea, attended by 19 regional and ten countries outside the region. USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB-4) also carried out activities in the region from August to September to combat piracy and capacity building.

Written by TW