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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Indian Navy TU-142 Bear saves Chinese ship from pirates |
| 2011-05-07 |
| Prompt action by the Indian Navy staved off a pirate attack on a Chinese cargo vessel far out in the Arabian Sea, forcing the brigands to flee and earning kudos from the authorities in Beijing, a senior naval official said Friday.An Indian Navy TU-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft made several low sorties over the MV Full City, 450 nautical miles (850 km) off Karwar in Karnataka, warning the pirates to immediately leave the vessel or face the wrath of Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships that were fast closing in. The warnings worked and the pirates scampered into the skiff from which they had boarded the vessel and sailed toward a nearby mothership, which immediately set off toward Somalia at full speed, the official said, requesting anonymity due to service rules. The aircraft stayed on station for four hours till the Indian combat vessels arrived on the scene in an operation that was closely coordinated with a NATO Task Force, a Chinese Task Force and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Beijing, highlighting the international cooperation in the anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean, the official said. "The Chinese Task Force also thanked the Indian Navy for its prompt and persistent action leading to the pirate attack on MV Full City being repelled," the officer added. MV Full City, a bulk carrier loaded with rock phosphate and bound for Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu, came under siege from the pirates at 8.45 a.m. on Thursday about 450 nautical miles (850 km) west of Karwar in Karnataka. |
| Posted by:john frum |