Wednesday, March 17, 2024

Operation Sweeping Broom


Off the coast of Somalia HNLMS Tromp is busy with operation Sweeping Broom. Well, of the coast of the Seychelles would be more accurate.

According to legend the namegiver of the ship, admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp, raised a broom in the mast at one time, to indicate he had swept the English from the sea. Since then every naval ship with the name Tromp has a broom on board. And at special occasions it is raised, to indicate the vessel is busy sweeping the ocean clean of everyone standing in the way of peace.

At the moment operation Sweeping Broom is going well.
March 14th a mothership was caught with two pirates.
March 15th the two skiffs that were with the mothership from the previous day were caught with 7 pirates aboard. 2 skiffs were destroyed with the Goalkeeper.
March 17th 2 small skiffs and a mothership together with 17 pirates were aprehended, after the pirates had decided to hijack HNLMS Tromp. They soon discovered that was a bad plan. The 2 skiffs have been destroyed.
March 17th 1 mothership and 2 skiffs were seen. The pirates tried to flee in one of the skiffs when they saw the Tromp coming. The helicopter of the Tromp tried to stop them with shots across the bow and when that didn't help the Tromp used her 127mm canon. The skiff wasn't stopped because the night fell and it was too dangerous, due to the shipping in the region, to proceed. However 4 pirates were caught together with the mothership and a skiff. Both vessels have been destroyed.

During all this several AK-47's, RPG's, sattelite telephones and other pirate attributes have been found and confiscated.

There is however a 'but' and that is that, in compliance with EU guidelines, the pirates have been let go or will be let go, although in at least one case the Seychelles Coast Guard have been informed of the impeding arrival of a couple of pirates.

So when will HNLMS Tromp see those same pirates again?

UPDATE
March 18th the pirates that got away in the dark yesterday have been caught this morning.

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