France Seizes 11 Pirates; U.S. Aid Ship Foils Hijack (Update1)
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By Thomas Penny and Caroline Alexander
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- The French navy captured 11 pirates off Kenya and a U.S. cargo vessel evaded rocket fire as Somali hijackers followed through on a threat to increase attacks.
The pirates were seized after their attempt to hijack the Safmarine Asia, a Liberian-registered cargo ship, was thwarted by a helicopter from the frigate Nivose late yesterday, France’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. They were tracked overnight and were picked up along with their three boats at dawn, 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of Kenya’s port of Mombasa.
Shortly before the attack on the Safmarine Asia, the crew of the U.S.-flagged Liberty Sun, taking food aid to Africa, used evasive maneuvers to foil a hijack attempt by Somali pirates who fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
Pirates vowed to attack U.S. and French interests in retaliation for the April 12 rescue of an American captain by snipers from the U.S. Navy destroyer Bainbridge and for attacks on pirates by the French navy. Two other ships were seized yesterday, highlighting the challenge facing President Barack Obama in curbing the escalating threat of piracy in waters four times the area of Texas.
The Liberty Sun was damaged during the assault yesterday, the owner, Liberty Maritime Corp. of Lake Success, New York, said today in a statement. The pirates fled before the arrival of the Bainbridge, which was five hours away, Nate Christensen, a Navy spokesman, said today by phone from Bahrain. The crew is safe and under Navy protection.
Maersk Alabama
Last week, the Maersk Alabama became the first U.S.-flagged vessel to be seized off Somalia. The U.S. naval snipers, acting with Obama’s authorization, shot three of four pirates who had left the ship in a lifeboat with the Maersk Alabama’s captain, Richard Phillips, as a hostage. The fourth had turned himself in earlier for medical treatment.
“I am so pleased that an American ship is damaged but, unfortunately, I would be happier if American natives would die or be hijacked on that ship,” Mohamed Hashi Yasin, a self- declared pirate spokesman, said today in a mobile-telephone interview from the Somali town of Eyl. “I congratulate those who implemented the attempted attack but I am calling on all of my friends to redouble their operations against Americans.”
Food Shipment
The Liberty Sun was bound for Mombasa after delivering part of its cargo of food to Port Sudan, according to the company’s statement. The vessel is continuing to Mombasa with a U.S. Navy security detachment on board, Christensen said. The Liberty Sun left the U.S. in February, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The ship, which was chartered by the World Food Program, was carrying 27,000 tons of food aid destined for Kenya, Somalia and southern Sudan, Peter Smerdon, a spokesman for the United Nations agency, said today in a telephone interview. The cargo, which includes maize meal, corn-soya blend, wheat flour, lentils and yellow peas, is enough to feed 1.6 million people for a month, Smerdon said.
The Somali pirates who warned they would retaliate for the rescue of Phillips also threatened French interests. French commandos killed two Somali pirates when they stormed a hijacked yacht on April 10. A Frenchman on the vessel with his family was killed.
Seized Yesterday
The ships seized yesterday are still being held by pirates, Christensen said. The vessels are the Greek-owned commodity carrier Irene E.M., which the U.S. Navy says has a crew of 23, and the Sea Horse, a Togolese-flagged cargo ship which was heading for Mumbai, India, to pick up WFP food aid for Somalia.
Titan, a Greek ship seized by pirates on March 19, was released today, an unidentified spokeswoman for the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said in a telephone interview. The Titan, which is owned by Albamar Shipping Co. SA and sails under a Grenada and St. Vincent flag, was carrying iron ore when it was taken. The 24 crew members were reported to be safe; no further information was immediately available.
Pirates have attacked 80 ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia this year, seizing 19 of them, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which runs the Piracy Reporting Centre. Eighteen ships and more than 320 seamen are being held by Somali pirates, IMB manager Cyrus Mody said today in a telephone interview.
More This Year
“In the whole of last year we had 111 incidents, and this year we’re already up to 80,” Mody said. “What we have noticed in the Gulf of Aden is the number of successful hijackings has decreased, and that’s primarily because of the presence of the navies and the response of the navies coming to the aid of masters requesting assistance.”
About 25 warships from the European Union, the U.S., Turkey, China, India, Russia and Malaysia are in the Gulf of Aden to protect a shipping route that carries about one-tenth of the world’s trade.
The pirates have thrived in the lawless chaos of Somalia since the U.S. helped drive out its Islamist rulers over fears the country would become a haven for terrorists. The pirates are increasingly well-armed and organized and have extorted more than $100 million since the 1990s, Will Geddes of ICP Group said in December.
To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at [email protected]; Alaric Nightingale in London at Nightingale in London and Maria Petrakis in Athens
Last Updated: April 15, 2009 13:47 EDT
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Thomas Penny and Caroline Alexander
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- The French navy captured 11 pirates off Kenya and a U.S. cargo vessel evaded rocket fire as Somali hijackers followed through on a threat to increase attacks.
The pirates were seized after their attempt to hijack the Safmarine Asia, a Liberian-registered cargo ship, was thwarted by a helicopter from the frigate Nivose late yesterday, France’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. They were tracked overnight and were picked up along with their three boats at dawn, 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of Kenya’s port of Mombasa.
Shortly before the attack on the Safmarine Asia, the crew of the U.S.-flagged Liberty Sun, taking food aid to Africa, used evasive maneuvers to foil a hijack attempt by Somali pirates who fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
Pirates vowed to attack U.S. and French interests in retaliation for the April 12 rescue of an American captain by snipers from the U.S. Navy destroyer Bainbridge and for attacks on pirates by the French navy. Two other ships were seized yesterday, highlighting the challenge facing President Barack Obama in curbing the escalating threat of piracy in waters four times the area of Texas.
The Liberty Sun was damaged during the assault yesterday, the owner, Liberty Maritime Corp. of Lake Success, New York, said today in a statement. The pirates fled before the arrival of the Bainbridge, which was five hours away, Nate Christensen, a Navy spokesman, said today by phone from Bahrain. The crew is safe and under Navy protection.
Maersk Alabama
Last week, the Maersk Alabama became the first U.S.-flagged vessel to be seized off Somalia. The U.S. naval snipers, acting with Obama’s authorization, shot three of four pirates who had left the ship in a lifeboat with the Maersk Alabama’s captain, Richard Phillips, as a hostage. The fourth had turned himself in earlier for medical treatment.
“I am so pleased that an American ship is damaged but, unfortunately, I would be happier if American natives would die or be hijacked on that ship,” Mohamed Hashi Yasin, a self- declared pirate spokesman, said today in a mobile-telephone interview from the Somali town of Eyl. “I congratulate those who implemented the attempted attack but I am calling on all of my friends to redouble their operations against Americans.”
Food Shipment
The Liberty Sun was bound for Mombasa after delivering part of its cargo of food to Port Sudan, according to the company’s statement. The vessel is continuing to Mombasa with a U.S. Navy security detachment on board, Christensen said. The Liberty Sun left the U.S. in February, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The ship, which was chartered by the World Food Program, was carrying 27,000 tons of food aid destined for Kenya, Somalia and southern Sudan, Peter Smerdon, a spokesman for the United Nations agency, said today in a telephone interview. The cargo, which includes maize meal, corn-soya blend, wheat flour, lentils and yellow peas, is enough to feed 1.6 million people for a month, Smerdon said.
The Somali pirates who warned they would retaliate for the rescue of Phillips also threatened French interests. French commandos killed two Somali pirates when they stormed a hijacked yacht on April 10. A Frenchman on the vessel with his family was killed.
Seized Yesterday
The ships seized yesterday are still being held by pirates, Christensen said. The vessels are the Greek-owned commodity carrier Irene E.M., which the U.S. Navy says has a crew of 23, and the Sea Horse, a Togolese-flagged cargo ship which was heading for Mumbai, India, to pick up WFP food aid for Somalia.
Titan, a Greek ship seized by pirates on March 19, was released today, an unidentified spokeswoman for the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said in a telephone interview. The Titan, which is owned by Albamar Shipping Co. SA and sails under a Grenada and St. Vincent flag, was carrying iron ore when it was taken. The 24 crew members were reported to be safe; no further information was immediately available.
Pirates have attacked 80 ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia this year, seizing 19 of them, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which runs the Piracy Reporting Centre. Eighteen ships and more than 320 seamen are being held by Somali pirates, IMB manager Cyrus Mody said today in a telephone interview.
More This Year
“In the whole of last year we had 111 incidents, and this year we’re already up to 80,” Mody said. “What we have noticed in the Gulf of Aden is the number of successful hijackings has decreased, and that’s primarily because of the presence of the navies and the response of the navies coming to the aid of masters requesting assistance.”
About 25 warships from the European Union, the U.S., Turkey, China, India, Russia and Malaysia are in the Gulf of Aden to protect a shipping route that carries about one-tenth of the world’s trade.
The pirates have thrived in the lawless chaos of Somalia since the U.S. helped drive out its Islamist rulers over fears the country would become a haven for terrorists. The pirates are increasingly well-armed and organized and have extorted more than $100 million since the 1990s, Will Geddes of ICP Group said in December.
To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at [email protected]; Alaric Nightingale in London at Nightingale in London and Maria Petrakis in Athens
Last Updated: April 15, 2009 13:47 EDT
