Tag: navy

Freeing crew and apprehending 4 suspected pirates British marines detained four suspected pirates and freed 20 crew members who had been held hostage on a pirate "mothership" in the Indian Ocean, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Defense said that the dhow had been hijacked by pirates to use as a base and was involved in attacks on merchant shipping.The ministry said pirates were holding a Pakistani crew of 20 on board when the British vessels HMS Somerset and RFA Fort Victoria - part of NATO's counter-piracy task force - closed in on the dhow last Friday some 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the coast of Somalia."This operation demanded high levels of seamanship to ensure that the dhow was kept under close observation as the boarding party moved in," said Capt. Shaun Jones.Backed up by a helicopter, a boarding team surrounded the dhow and scaled the side of the sailing vessel - a "quite tense" experience, according to the boarding team's commander."Through my weapon sight I could see dark figures moving in the shadows on the bridge," said Capt. Rod Yapp. "We quickly boarded and secured the dhow, then mustered the 24 occupants on her bow."While pirates were seen ditching ...

The men died in a firefight Six suspected Somali pirates have been killed in a gun battle with the Kenyan navy.The men died in a firefight with a patrol boat at Kiunga in Lamu.Three naval officers were also injured in the incident close to the Somali border.The navy team was patrolling its waters on Monday when it spotted a docked speedboat less than 100 metres from the shoreline.The gunmen, who were ashore, fired at the soldiers as they tried to board their vessel and flee."But the officers swiftly fired back and managed to kill six while others escaped with serious injuries," sources within the Kenyan department of defence told the Daily Nation newspaper.The navy patrol boat was hit by a rocket propelled grenade that did not explode, but the impact broke the captain's arm, while a corporal suffered a fractured spine.The Kenyan army was called in to follow a trail of blood into a nearby forest in Somalia, but the mission was later called off.Source: Intermanager

A German warship stopped and boarded a suspicious group of two small boats Naval patrols have prevented attacks on shipping by Somali pirates in the last week.On 28 September, a German warship stopped and boarded a suspicious group of two small boats, a whaler and skiff 70 nautical miles off Mogadishu, Somalia. The crew threw weapons and other items overboard. The skiff and whaler were destroyed to prevent their potential use for piracy, and the crew were released close to the Somali shore.On the following day, the same warship located and destroyed a suspicious whaler 100 nautical miles south west of Mogadishu. The whaler was loaded with piracy equipment but no crew were seen on board.The Indian navy also thwarted potential hijacks by Somali pirates of two cargo ships, Fairchem Bronco and Conqueror, in the Gulf of Aden in separate incidents on 20 and 24 September. A naval patrol vessel escorting the ships warned pirates in approaching high-speed skiffs to stay clear. The patrol vessel sent marine commandos to investigate the skiffs, where they found pirates and recovered arms and ammunition.In a further incident, pirates boarded the Turkish-owned Cihan in the Red Sea over the weekend of 24/25 September but ...

Joining an international anti-piracy mission The Russian large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev of the Pacific Fleet is on its way to the Gulf of Aden, where it is due to join an international anti-piracy mission later this week, a Russian Navy spokesman said on Monday.He added that also taking part in the mission will be the Fotiy Krylov tanker and a salvage tugboat.The Admiral Panteleyev will replace another Russian anti-submarine ship, the Severomorsk, which is currently patrolling the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.Source: Moscow Time

120 pirates have been apprehended in 2011 Navy warships have prevented 34 piracy attempts and apprehended 120 Somali pirates since their deployment in the Gulf of Aden in October 2008."26 Indian Navy ships have been deputed in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008. A total of 1,731 ships have been escorted. 34 piracy attempts have been prevented by the Navy there," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question.He said a total of 120 pirates have been apprehended and 73 fishermen and crew rescued in four operations of Navy in East Arabian Sea in 2011.The Minister said the Navy was cooperating with other navies operating there and the Arabian Sea.Meanwhile, replying to another query, the Minister said the Navy had also played a crucial role in rescuing a Chinese merchant vessel from being hijacked by the pirates in May this year.Answering another query, the government denied that there was a scam in the Defence Ministry's department looking after resettlement and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen.Source: PTI

The intervention was successful Royal Thai Navy Counter Piracy Task Unit sent a helicopter to Eden bay off the Somalia coast to assist a Liberia registered cargo M.V. THOR HARMONY which was attacked by pirates using Rocket Propelled Granades. The intervention was successful.Later M.V. MSC NAMIBIA II a 24,000 ton Liberia flagged container ship was was attacked by pirates 70 nautical miles off Yemen, Somalia. The pirates on a skiff arrived from the north at high speed, and fired RPG's at the MSC NAMIBIA II.The Helicopter Bell 212 crew reported seeing six pirates on the floor of skiff. The Bell chopper returned to HMS Similan and the protection of cargo ship MSC NAMIBIA II was taken over by US was ship USS WHITBEY ISLAND.Later both merchant vessels arrived safely at their destination. At 13:.51 hrs MSC NAMIBIA II send e-mail to thankRoyal Thai Navy for their assistance in the ongoing fight against piracy.Source: Pattaya Daily News

The plan is to start doing some exercises and learn how to work together A U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) embarked on the guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) who is currently involved in U.S. Navy counter-piracy operations, July 23.AIT's are elite, deployable Coast Guard boarding teams comprised of highly trained maritime law enforcement specialists who are capable of Level III Non-compliant boardings. As the only organization in the U.S. government with the combined authority of a law enforcement agency, an intelligence agency, and a military service, the 12-person AIT brings additional capabilities and expertise to USS Mitscher's visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team.Under the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard has the authority and capability to interdict, apprehend, and refer suspected criminals for prosecution. It also has expertise in gathering and building evidentiary packages required for prosecuting piracy and other maritime crimes."We can assist in evidence collection, and if a case goes to trial, we can prepare case packages," said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Robert List, the Officer in Charge of the advanced interdiction team. "We provide technical expertise to the teams."Between operations Mitscher's VBSS team and the AIT will train together to enhance their ...

Four people aboard the Oliva boat Israeli naval forces attacked the Civil Peace Service Gaza monitoring boat with water cannons earlier today.Civil Peace Service Gaza is an international third party non-violent initiative to monitor potential human rights violations in Gazan territorial waters.The initial attack happened at 12.05pm local time. There were four people aboard the Oliva boat at the time, two CPS Gaza crew members (from the UK and Sweden), the captain and a journalist.British human rights worker Ruqaya Al-Samarrai stated: "We were fewer than two miles away from the Gaza coast when they fired at us. We saw them firing water at some fishing boats so we headed to the area. When we got close, the warships left the fishing boats, and turned on us. They attacked us for about ten minutes, following us as we tried to head to shore and eventually lagged when we reached about one mile off the Gaza coast."A fishing boat was also fired at and damaged with live rounds. Currently Israel claims to allow fishing boats to work within three miles off the coast of Gaza, but the limit is rarely respected and fishermen as close as 1.5 nautical miles are regularly targeted.Source: ...

rescue of 13 Indian crewmen from a disabled tanker in the North Arabian Gulf On the morning of the 29th June, Falmouth Coastguard received an emailed mayday from the master on board the Motor Tanker Pavit, reporting that they had suffered engine failure two days before and were taking on water through the shaft bearing.They also reported that, in the severe weather conditions, many of the crew were suffering from seasickness, with four of them considered to be seriously ill. Their stated position was 120 nautical miles from the Oman coast.Falmouth Coastguard initially sent out a broadcast to other vessels in the area, but with the severe weather on scene, none were able to go to the aid of the tanker. Falmouth Coastguard also attempted to hand over coordination to the Omani Coastguard but they were unable take on coordination of the incidentAfter liaison with the owners of the vessel, the crew on board and the Middle East Authorities, Falmouth Coastguard were able to arrange for a Royal Navy Warship HMS St Albans and an Indian products tanker (Jag Pushpa) to go to their aid, which arrived at 8.00 am yesterday morning.HMS St Albans arrived on scene yesterday morning and ...