They rescued a group of Pakistani fishermen after they were captured by pirates
City sailors and Royal Marines have rescued a group of Pakistani fishermen after they were captured by pirates off the Somali coast.
In a daring mission Royal Marines from Devonport-based HMS Somerset boarded a large fishing dhow being used by the pirates as a ‘mothership’ for launching armed raids on merchant shipping.
The pirates had previously seized the Pakistani fishermen’s trawler.
HMS Somerset is in the region conducting maritime security operations.
The Type 23 frigate’s Captain, Commander Paul Bristowe, ordered the attack after HMS Somerset’s Merlin helicopter had shadowed the suspect vessel in the Indian Ocean.
A boarding party of marines brought the Pakistani crew to safety after the pirates – armed with machine guns – surrendered without firing a shot. The raiders were then transferred to a US warship in the area.
The successful mission by HMS Somerset was the second in a week where British forces had intervened in a pirate raid on vulnerable vessels.
Source: Plymouth Herald
