Sri Lanka seeks assistance from Combined Maritime Forces to release fishermen hijacked by Somali pirates

Sri Lanka has sought assistance from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the world’s largest maritime security partnership, to obtain the release of the Sri Lankan fishing trawler that was hijacked by Somali pirates along with its crew.

Accordingly, the spokesman of the Sri Lanka Navy stated that assistance was sought from the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces, engaged in counter-terrorism efforts, to retrieve the boat and the fishermen.

On Saturday (27 Jan.) it was reported that the ‘Lorenzo Putha 4’ multi-day fishing trawler had been seized by Somali pirates, along with six crew members aboard.

CMF is a multinational maritime partnership led by the U.S. from Bahrain, the base for the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet. CMF has 39 members, including NATO and European states, regional countries and other nations.