NATO warship holds then frees 19 pirates after foiling attack

PILLAGING PIRATES

The Portuguese frigate NRP Corte Real, seen in the foreground, captured 19 Somali pirates after foiling an attack on an oil tanker but released them all, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Photo courtesy AFP.

French navy captures 11 suspected Somali pirates: AFP
The French navy on Sunday captured 11 suspected Somali pirates armed with two assault rifles and an RPG in the Indian Ocean, an AFP correspondent on board the French frigate Nivose reported. The suspects were onboard two skiffs and a "mother-ship" more than 500 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast. They were spotted by the French frigate's crew shortly before 0500 GMT and attacked it, apparently mistaking the warship for a merchant vessel. The Nivose moved into the sun to maintain its cover and when the pirates were close enough, dispatched its outboards and a helicopter to nab the attackers.

by Staff Writers
Brussels (AFP) May 2, 2009
A Portuguese frigate captured 19 Somali pirates after foiling an attack on an oil tanker but released them all, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officials said Saturday.

Commander Chris Davis, from the control centre for the NATO mission protecting merchant ships off Somalia, said the frigate Corte Real launched a helicopter Friday after being informed of an attack on the tanker, the Bahamas-flagged Kition.

The helicopter pursued the pirates back to their mother ship, a fishing boat which was later boarded and weapons including grenade-launchers and explosives were seized, Davis said.

However a Portuguese officer with the NATO force in the Gulf of Aden, Santos Ferreira, told TSF radio that the 19 pirates captured had been released "after contact was made with Somali national authorities."

Davis said in another incident on Thursday a Turkish vessel, the Christina A, was attacked by pirates in two boats off the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but managed to shake them off by increasing speed to 20 knots.

Somali pirates said Saturday they had captured two ships over the past few hours, including a Ukrainian vessel that was headed to Iran.

The Kenyan-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme for its part said pirates had hijacked a British-owned bulk carrier in the Indian Ocean, 250 nautical miles southwest of the Seychelles.

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PILLAGING PIRATES

Vietnamese cargo rescued from pirates: Turkish army

Ankara (AFP) March 16, 2009
Turkish and Danish warships intercepted an attack by pirates on a Vietnamese cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, the Turkish army chief of staff said Monday.

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