Pirates hijack cargo ship with 24 crew off Somalia: EU

[Templar]

Pirates hijack cargo ship with 24 crew off Somalia: EU
2010-06-02

Pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades on Wednesday hijacked a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden with 24 crew from Bangladesh, Ghana, Egypt and Pakistan, EU naval forces said.

"In the early hours of June 2 it was reported by the owner of the MV QSM Dubai that a group of armed pirates had boarded the ship and taken control," a statement from the European Union's Navfor anti-piracy mission said.

They said a US warship patrolling the area had "reported that they had seen a person with an RPG on board," and after flying over the area, concluded "that the ship was hijacked".

The 15,220-tonne ship had come from Brazil and was hijacked in a patrolled stretch of waters in the Gulf described as an "internationally recommended transit corridor".

- AFP

 

[Acropolis]

See the Puntland authorities have stormed the ship. Master dead.....clearly hijacking a vessel with cargo bound for Somalia is not a great career move.

Raises a question about lawful boarding of vessels particularly against the backdrop of Israeli action. You would expect Puntland govt to have told and sought permission from Panama ....I wonder if that happened? I have my doubts.

Israel claim to have boarded to help preserve blockade.....Puntland board to free ship from pirates.

 

[saward]

Somalia: Puntland forces forcible free hijacked ship
3 Jun 3, 2010 - 2:32:12 AM




Puntland security forces have on Thursday forcible released a hijacked ship carrying goods destined for the ports of Bosaso and Berbera, Garowe Online has learnt.

Pirates seized on Wednesday Panama-flagged, MV QSM Dubai and her 24 crewmembers comprising of Egyptian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Ghanaian nationals in the Gulf of Aden.

Said Mohamed Rage, Puntland’s Minister of Ports and Marine Transport told GO the operation was a well-coordinated one that resulted to minimum casualties and the liberation of the 15,220-tonne vessel with her 24 multinational crew.

He however, stated that the pirates have killed the ship’s Pakistani captain while three soldiers have sustained minor injuries. Seven suspected pirates have also been arrested in the operation.

Reports that reached Garowe Online said the injured soldiers are been treated by Nato forces, who also played crucial role in the rescue operation.

Mr. Rage said lamented about lack of international support to enable Puntland forces conduct such rescue missions to liberate ships and crew held against their will in Somalia’s troubled coast.

It is the third time for Puntland forces to free a hijacked ship from pirates, an action that sends clear message to the sea gangs.

Puntland government has vowed to forcible free any ships bound for its ports hijacked by ransom-hunting pirates but cautioned over ability to do the same on the foreign ships held by the sea buccaneers.

More than 20 ships and over 300 crews are currently held by pirates along the coast of Horn of Africa waiting for ransom to paid.

Saward

 

[trublue]

Pirates had killed a captain as the Somali forces stormed the hijacked Panama-flagged cargo vessel in northern part of the Horn of Africa region, a regional maritime official confirmed on Thursday.

Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) said the incident took place when soldiers from Puntland region stormed the MV QSM Dubai, a Panama flagged general cargo ship and engaged the pirates in a fight. “I am not sure whether the captain was killed on Wednesday night or early today (Thursday). But he is dead,” Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa.

The ship, with dead weight of 15,220 tonnes and a crew of 24 comprising Egyptian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Ghanaian nationals, was in bound from Brazil when hijacked in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.

Mwangura said the general cargo ship was carrying sugar from Santos, Brazil to Berbera, Somalia. Pirate attacks off the Somali coast have continued despite the presence of several warships, deployed by navies of the NATO, the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea and India, in the region to protect cargo and cruise ships against piracy.

Attacks in the region started to soar last year, as Somali pirates — long active in these waters — started venturing farther from shore and going after bigger game.

The East African nation shares its southern border with Somalia, whose coastline has been infected with piracy in recent years.

More than 130 pirate attacks were reported in the waters off Somalia from the beginning of last year.

 

[trublue]

NAIROBI, Kenya Security forces from Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early Thursday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship's Pakistani captain, authorities said.

Authorities decided to try and free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Said Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region.

"We can't afford letting pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don't act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali-bound cargo ships," Raage told The Associated Press.

Two officers were wounded during a brief shootout with the pirates and ultimately all seven pirates were detained, he said.

While rescue operations by Somali ragtag security forces are rare, it's not the first time they have tried to free a ship. In 2008, they stormed a hijacked ship carrying food to the war-ravaged, poor country, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates.

The QSM Dubai had been hijacked early Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden while headed for a port in the breakaway northern region of Somaliland. The crew aboard the ship hailed from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. It had sailed from Brazil and carried goods for both Somaliland and Puntland regions.

Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state within Somalia in 1998, has generally been spared the violence that has wracked much of Somalia's southern and central regions. But pirates use the region as a base of operations.

Thursday's incident comes barely a day after the crew of a Libyan-owned cargo ship pounced on their sleeping Somali captors, disarming the pirates and killing five of them. The crew was able to regain control of their vessel, which had been hijacked Feb. 3 in the Gulf of Aden.

One crew member was seriously wounded during that struggle, the European Union's anti-piracy task force said. A sixth pirate managed to lock himself in a room and call other pirates to say they had been overpowered before the crew took him hostage.

Somalia has been mired in violence since 1991, and its weak U.N.-backed government is too busy fighting an Islamist insurgency to patrol its shores or go after pirates on land.

The multimillion dollar ransoms that pirates command are one of the few remaining ways for Somalis to make money. Experts say the problems will only get worse unless the security situation on land improves. Somali pirates are currently holding at least 20 vessels and several hundred crew members.

 

[trublue]

SECURITY forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early yesterday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship’s Pakistani captain, authorities said.
Authorities decided to try to free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Said Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region. “We can’t afford to let pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don’t act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali- bound cargo ships,” said Raage .
Two officers were wounded during a brief shootout with the pirates, and ultimately all seven pirates were detained, he said.
While rescue operations by Somali ragtag security forces are rare, it’s not the first time they have tried to free a ship. In 2008, they stormed a hijacked ship carrying food to the war-ravaged, poor country, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates.
The QSM Dubai had been hijacked early on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden while headed for a port in the breakaway northern region of Somaliland. The crew aboard the ship hailed from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. It had sailed from Brazil and carried goods for both the Somaliland and Puntland regions.
Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state within Somalia in 1998, has generally been spared the violence that has wracked much of Somalia’s southern and central regions. But pirates use the region as a base of operations.
Yesterday’s incident comes barely a day after the crew of a Libyan-owned cargo ship pounced on their sleeping Somali captors, disarming the pirates and killing five of them. The crew were able to regain control of their vessel, which had been hijacked on February 3 in the Gulf of Aden. One crew member was seriously wounded during that struggle, the European Union’s anti-piracy task force said. A sixth pirate managed to lock himself in a room and call other pirates to say they had been overpowered before the crew took him hostage.
Somalia has been mired in violence since 1991, and its weak UN-backed government is too busy fighting an Islamist insurgency to patrol its shores or go after pirates on land.
The multimillion dollar ransoms that pirates command are one of the few remaining ways for Somalis to make money. — Sapa-AP