Somali pirates free UK-flagged tanker after ransom paid

Somali pirates free UK-flagged tanker after ransom paid. The St James Park was seized in the Gulf of Aden Somali pirates have released a British-flagged ship with 26 crew on board after a ransom was paid, the EU anti-piracy mission (Eunavfor) says. Its statement says the ransom was dropped to the pirates holding the St James Park chemical tanker at Somalia's port of Garacaad on Thursday. The statement did not say how much money was paid. The vessel was on its way from Spain to Thailand when it was seized on 28 December in the Gulf of Aden.

"On the morning of May 13 a ransom drop was made to the pirate group holding the St James Park at anchorage at Garacaad," Eunavfor said. It said the ship "is now safely under way and Eunavfor is continuing to monitor the situation", without providing any further details. The 13,924-tonne ship's 26 crew hail from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Georgia, India, Turkey and the Philippines. It was carrying a cargo of chemicals used to make plastics when it was seized.

Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. Correspondents say the upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's continuing political disarray.

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Pirate Dies in Attempted Hijacking – EU NAVFOR Detains Pirate Action Group

ESPS Navarra on duty

Early on the morning of Tuesday 23 March, an EU NAVFOR warship received a distress call from a merchant ship off the Somalia coast and proceeded at high speed to assist.
As previously reported, the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, MV ALMEZAAN, en route to Mogadishu, was under attack from pirates. An armed private vessel protection detachment on board the ship returned fire, successfully repelling the first attack, but the pirates continued to pursue. A second attack was repelled and the pirates fled the area.
The EU NAVFOR frigate ESPS NAVARRA, from the Spanish Navy, was dispatched by the Force Commander, Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero of the Italian Navy, and raced to the scene of the incident. She launched her helicopter, quickly locating the ALMEZAAN and the pirates’ boats, known as skiffs. When the suspects failed to heed the helicopter’s instructions to stop, warning shots were fired by the aircraft, after which a team from NAVARRA boarded a skiff.
There were three boats, comprising one mother ship and two pirate skiffs. In the first skiff they found three suspected pirates and, in the second, three suspects and a fourth individual, who had died. The body has been transferred to NAVARRA, and an investigation indicated that the individual had died from small calibre gunshot wounds. The mother ship has now been destroyed and the remaining six suspects have been taken onboard the NAVARRA.
Earlier this week the Spanish ship provided assistance to the crew of an Iranian dhow who had been attacked and robbed by pirates. An EU NAVFOR boarding party provided water, food and fuel to enable the crew to return home safely.
EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM, and to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy. EU NAVFOR also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

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NATO Ship sinks a Pirate Mothership

The Seattle Times is reporting:
A NATO destroyer has sunk a pirate mothership in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast after allowing the crew to leave, the alliance said Monday.

Shona Lowe, an anti-piracy spokeswoman, said the HDMS Absalon – the Danish flagship of the three-vessel NATO flotilla in the region – disrupted a pirate operation by scuttling one of the large boats used by Somali gangs to transport attack teams to piracy hunting areas far off the coast.

The complete Seattle Times post by Slobodan Lekic is here »

Somalia pirates free Greek cargo vessel

Piracy has made Somali waters among the world's most dangerous
Somali pirates have freed a Greek-owned cargo ship and its crew of 19 after a ransom was paid, officials say. The Navios Apollon was seized north of the Seychelles
on 28 December as it headed from the US to India with a cargo of fertiliser. The Greek captain and 18 Filipino crewmen were all safe and the vessel was heading to Oman and then India.

The ransom - an unspecified amount - was airdropped onto the vessel on Saturday, a Greek official said. An international naval force patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean has been
unable to stop attacks on commercial vessels from pirates based in Somalia. Most vessels are released once a ransom is paid.

Correspondents say the upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's continuing political disarray.

BBC News
edited by darylwilkes on 01/03/2010

Freight ships arrving safely.

SOMALIA–  - The master of the Masar Trade looked happy for once as his cargo was offloaded at the Berbera quayside. “This is the very first time I have felt safe shipping into Somali waters” he said, nearby the Brandenburg class frigate FGS Emden was moored waiting for the discharging of freight and humanitarian aid to be completed before accompanying the older ship back to southern Somali waters.

 

The EU military operation, EUNAVFOR Somalia, saw inception in December 2008. For many of the officers and crew aboard the multi national task force ships it has proved a frustrating experience but in December the Council of the EU extended the mandate of the military operation until the 12th of December this year – few believe it will not be necessary to extend the deadline once again.

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