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<TR>April 20, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Nato warships foil pirates <!--10 min-->
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the crew of the Winnipeg (left) for their 'tremendous work'. 'We obviously act within our legal authority and also within our capacities,' Mr Harper told reporters at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NAIROBI - NATO naval ships foiled a pirate attack on a Norwegian tanker, catching up with the would-be hijackers on Sunday after a seven-hour pursuit, but a captured Belgian vessel was headed for Somalia.
The dramatic overnight chase in the Gulf of Aden came after seven pirates on a skiff tried to board the 80,000-tonne MV Front Ardennes but fled when foreign ships approached.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Dutch marines thwart attack
DUTCH marines, meanwhile, thwarted a pirate attack on a Greek-owned tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, freeing 16 Yemeni fishermen in the process.
A Dutch defence ministry spokesman said a British naval vessel intervened, keeping its guns trained on the pirates until Dutch commandos arrived under Nato orders to board.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>First on the scene was a British Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel, the Wave Knight, but it was a Canadian frigate, the Winnipeg, which then gave chase.
'The pirates who initially had weapons and what appeared to be climbing gear threw all of that overboard,' said Nato maritime spokesman Commander Chris Davies.
'When the Winnipeg finally caught up and stopped them... I am told there was sufficient evidence that these were pirates.' The suspects were held and questioned but could not be charged with any offence because doing so was not within Canada's jurisdiction.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the crew of the Winnipeg for their 'tremendous work'. 'We obviously act within our legal authority and also within our capacities,' Mr Harper told reporters at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
A Belgian ship, the 65-metre (213-foot) Pompei, was not so lucky, falling into pirate hands about 150 kilometres (93 miles) north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
A reconnaissance flight on Saturday by a Spanish naval helicopter revealed the Pompei was towing a much smaller vessel - thought to be a pirate boat - and was heading towards the Somali coast, some 700 kilometres away.
The Pompei would likely arrive there Wednesday, said Belgian officials. They would not say if any anti-piracy ships in the area would try to intervene. The captain of the 1,850-tonne vessel is Dutch, and the rest of the crew comprises two Belgians, three Filipinos and four Croatians. It is the first Belgian ship to be seized by Somali pirates. -- AFP
</TR>
<TR>April 20, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Nato warships foil pirates <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the crew of the Winnipeg (left) for their 'tremendous work'. 'We obviously act within our legal authority and also within our capacities,' Mr Harper told reporters at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NAIROBI - NATO naval ships foiled a pirate attack on a Norwegian tanker, catching up with the would-be hijackers on Sunday after a seven-hour pursuit, but a captured Belgian vessel was headed for Somalia.
The dramatic overnight chase in the Gulf of Aden came after seven pirates on a skiff tried to board the 80,000-tonne MV Front Ardennes but fled when foreign ships approached.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Dutch marines thwart attack
DUTCH marines, meanwhile, thwarted a pirate attack on a Greek-owned tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, freeing 16 Yemeni fishermen in the process.
A Dutch defence ministry spokesman said a British naval vessel intervened, keeping its guns trained on the pirates until Dutch commandos arrived under Nato orders to board.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>First on the scene was a British Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel, the Wave Knight, but it was a Canadian frigate, the Winnipeg, which then gave chase.
'The pirates who initially had weapons and what appeared to be climbing gear threw all of that overboard,' said Nato maritime spokesman Commander Chris Davies.
'When the Winnipeg finally caught up and stopped them... I am told there was sufficient evidence that these were pirates.' The suspects were held and questioned but could not be charged with any offence because doing so was not within Canada's jurisdiction.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the crew of the Winnipeg for their 'tremendous work'. 'We obviously act within our legal authority and also within our capacities,' Mr Harper told reporters at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
A Belgian ship, the 65-metre (213-foot) Pompei, was not so lucky, falling into pirate hands about 150 kilometres (93 miles) north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
A reconnaissance flight on Saturday by a Spanish naval helicopter revealed the Pompei was towing a much smaller vessel - thought to be a pirate boat - and was heading towards the Somali coast, some 700 kilometres away.
The Pompei would likely arrive there Wednesday, said Belgian officials. They would not say if any anti-piracy ships in the area would try to intervene. The captain of the 1,850-tonne vessel is Dutch, and the rest of the crew comprises two Belgians, three Filipinos and four Croatians. It is the first Belgian ship to be seized by Somali pirates. -- AFP
