NATO special forces storm pirate ship

Posted by Mc Parry on February 5th, 2010 No Comments Printer-Friendly

BRUSSELS — NATO special forces stormed a Slovenian cargo ship captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden Friday, freeing the crew of 25 in an unprecedented operation, a spokesman for the EU’s naval force said.

The assault and rescue, by Danish NATO forces, was made possible because the crew managed to send out a distress call and secure themselves in a safe room where they couldn’t be hit by crossfire or used as human shields.

Danish warship HDMS Absalon ( EU NAVFOR )

“It’s the first time that an assault of this nature has taken place,” John Harbour, said spokesman for the European Union Naval Force (NAVFOR) .

Lieutenant Colonel Wolfgang Schmidt. NATO Allied Command Operations spokesman in Lisbon, said the special forces’ action “demonstrates NATO’s resolve to deter and disrupt piracy off the Horn of Africa.

“Once NATO were absolutely sure that the crew onboard were safe and not going to be caught up in any cross fire, the decision was made to send in the specialist teams,” he added.

The 25 crew members — including 15 Filipinos, seven Ukrainians, an Indian, a Bulgarian and a Slovakian — were all rescued safe and sound. The pirates managed to flee. However Russian sailors from the Neustrashimyy navy ship, which was operating nearby, “successfully boarded and detained a second pirate skiff,” NATO said.

The rescue operation took place around 1100 GMT soon after the pirates seized the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship Ariella. The ship’s crew had managed to send out a distress signal which the international coalition forces patrolling the waters off Somalia intercepted.

A French plane from the EU anti-piracy force Atalanta flew to the spot and called on a Danish NATO ship in the area to intervene with its special forces. That was made possible after the whole ship’s crew managed to lock themselves into a room on board, the EU spokesman said.

“The NATO ship ensured that the crew onboard were safe before the decision was made to send in the specialist teams,” the EU insisted in a statement. Such acts of piracy, invariably for ransom, has become a scourge for all vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the Somali basin and well beyond.

Britain on Monday denied blocking an independent negotiator from trying to agree a ransom for a British couple held hostage in Somalia, but warned any such payment would encourage more kidnaps.

A shoot-out erupted Thursday between pirates who seized a North Korean-flagged, Libyan-owned ship and coast guards in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region, leaving one soldier dead, police in Mogadishu said.

It was not clear what sparked the gunfight near Lasqorey, a coastal village which lies in area disputed by the Horn of Africa’s northern self-declared states of Somaliland and Puntland.

The Ariella had been sailing within the International Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) which is under the protection of the coalition navies, making the rescue more feasible.

In a statement the EU NAVFOR naval force said it “strongly recommends” that all vessels that transit through the high risk areas, namely Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and Indian Ocean follow the published safety advice.

The activities of the pirates have multiplied in recent months due to calmer sea conditions after the end of the monsoon season. Attacks have been taking place off the south-east coast of Somalia, near the Seychelles or way out east between the African and Indian land masses. More recently the pirates seem to have returned to their previous favourite hunting ground in the Gulf of Aden. (AFP)