Tag: navy

Four suspected pirates were apprehended and 20 hostages released The Royal Navy has captured a pirate mothership involved in attacks on merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean. The dhow was spotted 200 miles off the coast and was surrounded by a Royal Navy and Royal Marine boarding team from RFA Fort Victoria, supported by helicopters from HMS Somerset. Captain Rod Yapp Royal Marines, the commander of the boarding team, said: "Approaching the dhow before boarding was quite tense.Through my weapon sight I could see dark figures moving in the shadows on the bridge. We quickly boarded and secured the dhow then mustered the 24 occupants on her bow." In the run up to being boarded, the suspect pirates were observed by Somerset's Merlin helicopter ditching equipment and weapons overboard as well as setting one of their skiffs adrift.Despite their desperate attempts to cover their tracks, a large cache of boarding ladders, weapons, a second attack skiff and equipment from a previously pirated ship were found onboard. Captain Yapp said: "There was a clear indication that the suspected pirates found on the dhow were well-practised and knew what they were doing. One of the weapons had recently been fired and was ...

Unbelievable! Navy let's pirates go This really is an absurd development in relation to the German navy's activities off the Somali coast. Soldiers on board the Frigate "Köln" are on an anti piracy missions there. Their objective is to deter pirates and armed robbery.However, in reality it appears that the navy is active as an armed sea-taxi business. On 8 November, the Frigate spots a pirate vessels 130km off the somali coast. A helicopter is sent and the ship heads for the pirates. In panic the pirates throw over board non-identified objects, probably weapons. The German soldiers capture 19 Somali, who are clearly pirates. But in the morning of 10 November the unbelievable happens.The navy sails the 19 pirates to land in a little dinghy and drops them off near their village. They even give them a bottle of water for the journey.The official justification for this is according to the ministry of defense is that the successful prosecution of the pirates was unlikely. According to the navy a trial is difficult because no nation is willing to host pirates.To put it clearly: As far as Operation Atalanta is concerned pirates have nothing more to fear than spending a few ...

Private package includes escort service, insurance cover and an audit of best management practice Shipowners are set to have a commercially viable alternative to armed guards in their fight piracy after the Convoy Escort Programme confirmed it would launch in the first quarter of 2012. The CEP package includes the escort service, insurance cover and an audit of the vessel's Best Management Practice 4 and compliance during the transit period. An initial business plan valued the package at $21,500, but CEP's chief executive Angus Campbell said the cost would now be higher due to increases in areas such as the price of fuel."The project has evolved considerably since the concept plan which was written some time ago. We are now proceeding on a fully commercial basis, so the tariff will have to be adjusted accordingly."In comparison, it is understood that employing four armed guards for ships transiting the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden typically can cost anything from $30,000 to $250,000 per voyage.The CEP is facilitated by Jardine Lloyd Thompson. Partner Sean Woolerson first came up with the concept three years ago, it has taken until now to secure a clear start date. This has led some to question ...

BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall in their counter piracy mission of the coast off Somalia.

BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornw BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall in their counter piracy mission of the coast of Somalia.

Iran's 16th fleet of warships started its naval mission on October An attempt by pirates to hijack an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea was foiled after an Iranian fleet of warships present in the region rushed to the scene.Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi announced that the Iranian oil tanker came under attack by 15 Somali pirate speedboats off the eastern coasts of Hanish al-Kubra Island in the Red Sea, but Iran's Jamaran destroyer thwarted the attack with timely action.Moussavi said that this was the second conflict between Jamaran and the pirates in the region and the destroyer's first clash in the Red Sea.The commander noted that the Iranian fleet of warships escorted the oil tanker to secure waters.Iran's 16th fleet of warships, comprising IRI Bandar Abbas Warship and the home-made Jamaran Destroyer, started its naval mission on October 9.The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the ...

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed The UK was not protected by any warships during October, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.The Royal Navy's cutbacks and presence in Libya meant UK waters were without the minimum coverage of a frigate or destroyer as Fleet Ready Escort (FRE).The last FRE ship, which can react to incidents such as terrorism, was Devon-based HMS Portland on 3 October.The MoD said although no warship was on FRE duty one could have been allocated within 24 hours.The FRE is a warship which is ready to react to an emergency, such as a terrorist attack, in UK waters or abroad.Frigate cutsBut the MoD said cuts to its fleet in the Strategic Defence and Strategy Review (SDSR), which reduced the number of its frigates from 24 to 19, and its commitments to the Nato mission in Libya, had left it unable to fill the role for a month.A Royal Navy spokesman said: "Due to the successful deployment of Royal Navy units to the Libya campaign, it has been necessary to reprofile the commitments of some ships."Should a FRE activation be required, a Royal Navy ship would be allocated."HMS Portland left the role of FRE on ...

No oil was spilled during the event and no one was injured An Australian naval vessel has helped prevent what authorities say could have been a maritime disaster off Papua New Guinea.Australia's Defence Department says a container ship, MV Vega Fynen, lost engine power and was drifting towards a charted reef 100 nautical miles south-east of Port Moresby early on Monday.After receiving a call for help from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the patrol boat HMAS Broome, based in Darwin, northern Australia, raced 146 miles to help the stricken ship.The Defence Department says the crew towed the 13,000 tonne vessel south and back into deeper waters.Lord Howe IslandThe patrol boat crew have been praised by authorities in Port Moresby for averting an environmental castastropheElsewhere off the Australian coast, a ship that ran aground in the harbour at Lord Howe Island has been cleared to return to service.The 485-tonne MV Island Trader grounded after unloading its cargo eight days ago on the east coast island but was refloated on the evening high tide on Monday.No oil was spilled during the event and no one was injured.Source: Radio Australia News

The team aims to find out if there is any possibility of terrorist links A joint investigation team of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and state marine police is interrogating the 16 crewmembers of a Bangladeshi vessel that had sneaked into Balasore coast. The team aims to find out if there is any possibility of terrorist links.Two days after the Bangladeshi vessel's 16 crewmembers were taken into custody, the joint investigation has begun laying emphasis on "subversive and terror" angles. "The possibility of their links with terrorist organizations cannot be ruled out at the moment," said an official source. "The investigation has so far remained inconclusive. The arrested Bangladeshis are being subjected to intense questioning and interrogation as some clues have come out which indicate that they had trespassed into country's coastal zone with malicious intent.As the versions being given by the Bangladeshi crews vary from that of one another, investigators doubt the motive of their infiltration," said Shantanu Kumar Das, nodal officer, coastal security wing of the state police. No arms and ammunition were recovered from the seized foreign vessel. But there is a distinct possibility that they might have dumped the cache into the sea before the Coast ...

NATO insists that the rules of engagement used by the Royal Navy are robust enough Despite the rising problem of international Piracy, NATO insists that the rules of engagement used by the Royal Navy are robust enough.The claim came as a programme was launched to help victims and their families deal with the trauma suffered at the hands of pirates