Piracy & Ship Attacks May 4, 2010
Somali pirates hijack Yemeni cargo ship
Somali pirates have seized a Yemen owned cargo vessel registered as AL ASA and are believed to be holding the crew of nine Yemeni sailors. The attack took place in the last few days off the coast of Yemen.
The Somali pirates captured the ship after it set sail from the Yemeni port of Mukalla on its way to the port of Aden.
Yemen's coast guard believes the vessel is being held at a northern Somali port. The coast guard is making efforts to get the ship released.
3 Pirate Action Groups (PAG) taken into custody, mother ships destroyed
On Thursday afternoon, April 29, the EU NAVFOR warship NIVOSE stopped and searched a suspected pirate action group (PAG) with one mother ship and two other boats, 480 miles off the coast of Somalia. A team from the Nivose boarded and searched the boats, finding that the pirates had attempted to dispose of pirate paraphernalia. 11 men were detained and transported to the Nivose along with the two smaller boats. The mother ship was sunk.
The next day on Friday evening, April 30, a EU NAVFOR maritime patrol aircraft from Sweden detected what they believed to be a pirate mother ship and two skiffs, 450 nautical miles east of Somalia. Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist, ordered the nearest EU NAVFOR vessel, the French warship FS TONNERRE, to intercept the 3 boats.
Early Saturday morning, May 1, the FS Tonnerre located the suspected piracy action group and deployed its helicopter. When the suspected pirates realized they’d been spotted they began throwing weapons and ladders overboard, which was filmed by the helicopter crew. The 11 suspected pirates were taken onboard the Tonnerre as were the two smaller skiffs.
Later on Saturday, May 1 a helicopter from another EU NAVFOR warship the FS LA FAYETTE spotted a pirate action group (PAG), with one mother ship and one skiff, in the Indian Ocean, between Mogadishu and the Seychelles.
The suspected pirates tried to escape and threw paraphernalia over board. The helicopter fired warning shots and they stopped. Upon boarding they found evidence to show the intention to commit piracy. Nine individuals are being held for further investigation and the mother ship was destroyed. The skiff was taken onboard the La Fayette, as evidence.
Islamic Insurgents are keeping Somali Pirates busy
Pirates have been busy fleeing from the radical Islamic insurgent group known as Hizbul Islam, who invaded and took over the pirate inhabited port town of Harardhere on Sunday May 2. Pirates fled during the invasion, avoiding a fight with the insurgents. The pirates moved 3 hijacked ships they are holding, further out to sea to keep the insurgent group from stealing their hostages. The 3 ships are the St Vincent and Grenadines flagged RAK AFRIKANA with 23 onboard, the Norwegian tanker UTB OCEAN with 21 onboard, and a fishing boat, the MV SAKOBA that is carrying 16 sailors. It is believed that the ships are being taken north to the port of Hobyo.
Hizbul Islam is one of the two most powerful insurgent groups in Somalia. They advocate sharia, a harsh Islamic law in which piracy is forbidden. Leaders of the Hizbul Islam claim they are going to end piracy in Somalia, but experts believe they want a piece of the multi-million dollar pirate enterprise. US officials have said that the leaders of this group have worked closely with wanted terrorist of Al Qaeda, which raises new concerns for hostages.