Tag: maritime piracy

They are charged with taking the 30 crew of luxury sailing ship Le Ponant hostage Six Somalis go on trial in a Paris court on Tuesday charged with taking the 30 crew of luxury sailing ship Le Ponant hostage in the emerald, pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden in 2008.The six men, aged 25 to 50, face life in prison if convicted of kidnapping and theft as part of a gang after they were arrested in a French airborne operation on land in Somalia after a ransom was paid.Only one admits to being a pirate, two admit to having been aboard the elegant 88-metre three-master but only to sell goats, cigarettes and the mild narcotic khat. The other three deny ever having set foot on the boat.Le Ponant left the Seychelles on March 30, 2008 with 30 crew and no passengers on board, headed for Yemen where they were to take on passengers for a cruise.On entering the notorious Gulf of Aden on April 4, the ship was boarded by pirates armed with assault rifles who forced the crew to head for Somalia.A week later, the ship's owner, shipping giant CMA-CGM, paid a $2.15-million (1.7-million-euro) ransom, the crew was ...

After months of uneventful patrolling in the northern Mozambique Channel, the call to action for the South African Navy (SAN) came in early April. Somali-based pirates launched an unsuccess- ful attack on a merchant ship from the Philippines at the northern entrance to the channel.Perhaps ironically, the SAN vessel on patrol duty was not one of the country's four modern frigates. They had all done antipiracy patrols in the area, under Operation Copper, and, to give the frigate squadron a break, the navy had sent its replenishment tanker (officially designated as combat support ship by the SAN), the SAS Drakensberg, to shoulder the burden. South African-designed and -built in Durban, the Drakensberg can carry two Denel Oryx helicopters from the South African Air Force's 22 Squadron, as well as a number of troops. Thus, anti-piracy operations are well within her capabilities.The pirate mother ship was found by a French Navy patrol aircraft on the third day after the attempted attack. A multinational operation followed, involving the Drakensberg, the Tanzanian Navy (which only operates coastal and inshore patrol boats) and the European Union's (EU's) Naval Force Somalia (better known by its code name, Atalanta).For 24 hours, the Drakensberg and its Oryx ...

The European Union naval attack on a Somali pirate base is a vast improvement The midnight attack by European Union naval forces - or rather, by a task force largely drawn from the French navy - against a pirate base on the Somali mainland represents a welcome improvement in the West's efforts to tackle one of the more resolvable security challenges of the modern age. Although the pirates, for the most part, use simple boats and basic weapons to terrorise shipping passing through the Gulf of Aden, the previous reluctance of some Western states to support robust counter-piracy measures has often meant the pirates have escaped scot-free.The nadir of the European mission arguably came last summer when the Royal Navy, having captured a party of Somali pirates, was obliged to let them go a few days later, but not before they had been given full medical checks and provided with packets of nicotine patches to help them overcome their smoking addictions.This embarrassing incident highlighted a worrying preference for observing health and safety regulations rather than ensuring the safe passage of shipping on the high seas. One of the main purposes of February's London conference on Somalia was to address this ...

The Giresun is the Turkish flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group The Turkish Navy vessel TCG Giresun has detained 14 Somali pirates and rescued seven Yemeni sailors who were being held hostage aboard their fishing dhow.The Giresun (F-491) intercepted the pirates 190 nautical miles off the coast of Oman on Friday morning after the vessel, towing a skiff, was spotted by the Giresun's S-70B Sea Hawk helicopter.Turkish commandoes stormed the Yemeni fishing vessel and seized nine AK-47 assault rifles, one RPG-7 rocket launcher, three RPG-7 warheads, ammunition and other equipment, including extra fuel barrels, ladders and communication and navigation devices, according to the Turkish Navy.Turkey has since 2009 contributed to patrolling the pirate-infested waters off Somalia. The Giresun is the Turkish flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) Immediate Reaction Force, which is conducting Operation Ocean Shield. Other SNMG 2 ships include the HDMS Absalon (Denmark); ITS Grecale (Italy); RFA Fort Victoria (United Kingdom); USS Dewert (United States) and USS Carney (United States). SNMG 2 alternates with SNMG 1 every six months for Ocean Shield.The Standing NATO Maritime Group vessels (including their helicopters) are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participating in exercises to ...

Fishermen said that their boats had also been destroyed after the EU Naval Force Somali fisherman pleaded Friday for international navies protecting shipping to halt air strikes on coastal villages, after the EU Naval Force struck a pirate base for the first time.An attack helicopter staged a nighttime raid on the Somali coastline Tuesday, the first since the European Union authorised such strikes, destroying several small boats that the force said were part of pirate operations.But fishermen on the impoverished coast said that their boats had also been destroyed, and that they feared being caught up in further attacks aimed to damage pirate operations."The pirates cannot be easily identified, as they mingle with the fishermen - the boats are the same and the people look alike unless they are armed," said Mohamed Hassan, a local fisherman in the Harardhere region."The fishermen are also victims - some of the boats destroyed by the international forces belonged to local fishermen, and we are very much worried that fishermen will die in such operations," he added.NATO and European Union warships have battled pirates at sea since 2008, but the EU decided to step up the fight in March by authorising strikes on assets ...

No longer are Somali pirates untouchable in their safe haven The hijacking of a Greek-owned oil tanker in the Arabian Sea last weekend did more than evoke the usual protestations by naval forces in the area that they could do nothing for fear of jeopardising the crew's safety. This time it triggered a helicopter-led nighttime assault on Somali pirate sanctuaries during which their supply centres came under fierce air attack and boats were destroyed. Although the raid did not secure the release of the 15-man crew of the MV Smyrni, the ship or its 135,000 tonnes of crude oil, it did set a welcome precedent.No longer are Somali pirates untouchable in their safe havens, where they felt able to hide behind the 18 ships and 300 crew members they hold hostage. The realisation has finally dawned that the force used by the pirates against merchant shipping, including several Thai vessels, has to be met with an equal or greater force if the threat they pose is to be contained.This air assault was no unilateral strike. The European Union Naval Force Somalia says this and future operations have the support of the United Nations and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, ...

Pirates prosecution and trial starting in June Mauritius said on Friday it has agreed to prosecute Somali pirates, helping overcome one of the hurdles to cracking down on the wave of piracy that has hit international shipping.The island nation said it had reached agreement with Somalia, and the semi-autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland, to accept suspected pirates for prosecution and trial starting in June.Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said his Indian Ocean country needed to play a more active role in fighting piracy, given its impact on security, fishing and tourism.International navies trying to counter piracy off Somalia are often reluctant to take suspects to their own countries because they either lack the jurisdiction to put them on trial, or fear the pirates may seek asylum.Suspected pirates captured by navies escorting vessels through dangerous waters often are released after only brief detention due to governments' reluctance to bring them to trial.Mauritius is one of several countries in east Africa and the Indian Ocean region conducting trials, or intending to try pirates, because Somalia lacks the legal infrastructure.The island state said it was making arrangements to accept one or two batches of suspected pirates in June, but did not say how ...

The warship smashed the actions of three pirate groups HMS Westminster smashed the actions of three pirate groups in a fortnight - sending the boats to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. The Portsmouth-based warship treated the skiffs to a Viking funeral, blasting them out of the water with her guns and those of her Merlin helicopter.With orange-red flames billowing up in a gigantic mushroom and black smoke drifting across the Indian Ocean, this is one of three pirate action groups whose nefarious activities were brought to a halt in a fortnight by HMS Westminster.In each case, the Portsmouth-based warship pounced after the pirates had tried - but failed - to hijack merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean.As the ship sprinted to the scene her Merlin was sent aloft; when they located the action groups, the helicopters crew invariably found the small craft crammed with weapons, extra fuel, ladders and more people than you would expect to find for any other purpose - hundreds of miles from land.The sight of the Merlin, with Royal Marines Commando snipers in the back, and 5,000 tonnes of armed-to-the-teeth battleship grey bearing down on them, the suspects began ditching their pirate paraphernalia over the ...

A total of eight incidents during April The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre issued its Report for April 2012.A total of eight incidents comprising seven actual incidents and one attempted incident were reported during the month, a decrease from the same month in 2011 and 2010.Of the eight incidents, two involved piracy in the South China Sea and six were robberies onboard vessels.For more information, click here.Source: ReCAAP

Battling the country's pirates and feeding its people The war against Somali piracy must be fought on two fronts: battling the country's pirates, and feeding its people.That was the view of envoys from seven countries whose citizens have been held by Somali pirates.The diplomats from Italy, the Seychelles, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania and Thailand were in Abu Dhabi yesterday to discuss ways to end piracy.They broadly agreed the keys were military action, restoring law and order, and increasing aid."Yes, we must get rid of the bases of pirates to avoid attacks but the international community cannot rely only on a military option," said Giorgio Starace, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE."There must be economic and social change linked to Somalia's recovery. Aid is not only for times of emergency. We need more engagement."Somali pirates cost governments and the shipping industry up to US$6.9 billion (Dh25.35bn) last year, the advocacy group One Earth Future Foundation says.The diplomats mapped out a range of measures to cooperate against piracy.Pirate attacks and ransom demands are common off Somalia's coast because of its proximity to the Gulf of Aden, a shipping route through which 20 per cent of world trade passes.This week, the European ...