On the morning of the 8 June it was confirmed that the MV YUAN XIANG had been released from pirate captivity after being held for 207 days. She was pirated on the 13 November 2010 approximately 650 nautical miles East of Salalah (Oman).
The vessel has a crew of 29 Chinese and is heading to a safe port. No further information on the crew is available at present.
EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). EU NAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. EU NAVFOR finally monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.
[mappress]
Source: eunavfor, June 10, 2011;.