Action of 19 May 2009

The Action of 19 May 2009 was a confrontation between the HSwMS Malmö of the Swedish Navy and Somali Pirates in the Gulf of Aden after the pirates attempted to seize a Greek cargo vessel. The commander of the HSwMS Malmö was Magnus Jönsson.

Background
Shortly before 1.30 AM on May 19, 2009, the HSwMS Malmo and HSwMS Stockholm were ordered to respond to a mayday signal sent out by the Greek cargo ship M/V Antonis, the crew of the cargo ship had said that they came under rocket-propelled grenade fire from the pirates.

Action
When the HSwMS Malmö arrived, the crew saw the pirates attempting to board the cargo ship, upon which it fired warning shots with cannons, machine guns, and snipers in an attempt to thwart the attack. In response, the pirates reportedly fired a grenade launcher, but spokesman Anders Grenstad claimed nobody was injured.

When the pirates attempted to escape, the HSwMS Malmö began chasing them, and focusing on one of their boats. After about 20 minutes the pirates gave up and a Swedish crew of around 7 soldiers was sent to arrest them.

The 7 pirates on board one of the fishing boats were arrested and taken onboard the HSwMS Malmö while security forces boarded the fishing boat and documented the items, finding 2 guns, a GPS navigator, and a grappling hook.

Aftermath
The pirates were later taken to Djibouti where an agreement between the EU and Kenya was signed where pirates arrested by EU forces are taken to Kenya to face trial. After the Swedes interrupted the attempted hijacking, there were fewer pirate attacks in the area, making Magnus Jönsson to say that he believed the Swedish intervention had some impact.