<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published May 5, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>French naval ship captures 11 suspected Somali pirates
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(PARIS) France intercepted 11 suspected Somali pirates on Sunday after they mistook a French naval ship for a commercial vessel and started heading towards it in preparation for an attack, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
Heavily-armed Somali pirates have stepped up their attacks on vessels in Indian Ocean shipping lanes and the Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels, kidnapping hundreds of hostages and raking in millions of dollars in ransoms.
The French navy seized the suspected pirates, who were in three small boats, 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
'They confused the Nivose with a commercial ship and rushed towards it, to intercept it,' the spokesman said.
'The Nivose then put its own craft in the water with its commandos and sent out a helicopter and stopped these 11 pirates who were on these three boats.'
Two were small boats which the pirates use for attacks and the third was the mother ship which is used to transport supplies such as petrol, water and food.
The commandos also found guns and rockets on the boats. 'The pirates are currently on the Nivose,' he said.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'For the moment we don't have any indication of what the European Union forces want to do with these pirates.' A French naval patrol seized three more pirates in Seychelles' waters on Saturday and handed them over to the coastguard, the islands' president's office said.
The attacks have disrupted UN aid supplies, driven up insurance costs and forced some firms to consider routing cargo between Europe and Asia around South Africa instead.
Naval forces from the United States, Europe and Asia have been deployed to protect merchant ships. - Reuters
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<TABLE border=0 width=640 align=left><TBODY><TR class=caption_black><TD colSpan=2 align=left>11/04/2009 </TD></TR><TR class=caption_black><TD colSpan=2 align=left>Singapore supports international efforts to combat piracy</B>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Caption: The SAF dispatches a Landing Ship Tank RSS Persistence and two Super Puma helicopters to the Gulf of Aden.</SPAN>
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(Photo: MINDEF)</SPAN>
</SPAN>
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has dispatched a task group in support of international efforts to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Participating in the three-month deployment are a Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Landing Ship Tank, RSS Persistence, with two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Super Puma helicopters on board.</SPAN>
</SPAN>
The task group consists of 240 personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force. The task group will operate under the ambit of the multinational Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 to conduct sector patrols to deter pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden. It will also respond to calls for assistance from ships encountering pirate attacks.</SPAN>
</SPAN>
Singapore shares the concerns of the international community regarding the situation in the Gulf of Aden, and supports international efforts to keep the sea lanes safe and secure.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>French naval ship captures 11 suspected Somali pirates
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(PARIS) France intercepted 11 suspected Somali pirates on Sunday after they mistook a French naval ship for a commercial vessel and started heading towards it in preparation for an attack, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
Heavily-armed Somali pirates have stepped up their attacks on vessels in Indian Ocean shipping lanes and the Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels, kidnapping hundreds of hostages and raking in millions of dollars in ransoms.
The French navy seized the suspected pirates, who were in three small boats, 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
'They confused the Nivose with a commercial ship and rushed towards it, to intercept it,' the spokesman said.
'The Nivose then put its own craft in the water with its commandos and sent out a helicopter and stopped these 11 pirates who were on these three boats.'
Two were small boats which the pirates use for attacks and the third was the mother ship which is used to transport supplies such as petrol, water and food.
The commandos also found guns and rockets on the boats. 'The pirates are currently on the Nivose,' he said.
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The attacks have disrupted UN aid supplies, driven up insurance costs and forced some firms to consider routing cargo between Europe and Asia around South Africa instead.
Naval forces from the United States, Europe and Asia have been deployed to protect merchant ships. - Reuters
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE border=0 width=640 align=left><TBODY><TR class=caption_black><TD colSpan=2 align=left>11/04/2009 </TD></TR><TR class=caption_black><TD colSpan=2 align=left>Singapore supports international efforts to combat piracy</B>
</TD></TR><!-- <tr><td colspan="2"> </td></tr> --><!--<tr><td width="65%" valign="top" align="left">--><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2 align=left><!-- added csh -->
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2 align=justify></SPAN>
(Photo: MINDEF)</SPAN>
</SPAN>
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has dispatched a task group in support of international efforts to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Participating in the three-month deployment are a Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Landing Ship Tank, RSS Persistence, with two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Super Puma helicopters on board.</SPAN>
</SPAN>
The task group consists of 240 personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force. The task group will operate under the ambit of the multinational Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 to conduct sector patrols to deter pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden. It will also respond to calls for assistance from ships encountering pirate attacks.</SPAN>
</SPAN>
Singapore shares the concerns of the international community regarding the situation in the Gulf of Aden, and supports international efforts to keep the sea lanes safe and secure.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
