EU mission loses German vessel to pirates

The EU's anti-piracy Atalanta mission on Friday (30 January) said a German ship had been seized by pirates after having ventured into perilous waters without waiting for the military escort vessels.

The German liquified-gas tanker Longchamp was captured by pirates last Thursday and had claimed it was part of a larger convoy – a statement rejected by the EU mission, which said the ship did not wait for the military vessels.

A spokesman for EU's first military anti-pirate operation criticised the crew of the Longchamp for not properly registering with the mission, Der Spiegel reports.

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