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EU NAVFOR Interdicts Pirate Action Group; Russkies Rescue Their Own
EU NAVFOR reports a pirate vessel group was intercepted Friday morning.The HNLMS Johan DeWitt responding to a patrol report from a maritime patrol aircraft, intercepted a Pirate Action Group in the middle of the Somali Basin in the Indian Ocean. According to the news release, suspected Somali pirates were observed by the crew of the Johan DeWitt, throwing materials overboard as the ship approached. The vessel group comprised one whaler and two skiffs, and were boarded by Dutch marines after they were stopped. Alleged evidence of piracy was found, said the report. The eleven crew of the vessels were arrested and two vessels were taken aboard the John De Witt. In other Horn of Africa pirate news, the Russian warship the RFS guided missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov rescued the Russian owned tanker the University of Moscow Thursday according to a EU NAVFOR news release. The hijacked tanker was seized by Somali pirates Wednesday, but the crew had locked themselves in a secure area on board the ship and called for help from Russian naval forces. The Marshal Shaposhnikov arrived on the scene the next day, then launched a helicopter, which was promptly fired on the the pirates. The helicopter returned fire. Eventually the pirates surrendered and the Russian sailors retook control of the tanker and custody of the pirates. No one was reported hurt in the firefight. EU NAVFOR had been monitoring the situation, but took no part in the rescue. Elements of the US-led counter-piracy operation CTF-151 were placed on alert and were offered in assistance to the Russians. Posted by: badanov 2010-05-08 |
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