The Magellan Star “taken over” by US and Turkish forces

(BRUXELLES2) It was at dawn, 5 a.m. local time, this morning that 24 Marines from theUSS Dubuque have set foot on the MV Magellan Star and freed him from the pirates who were on board. The 9 pirates were apprehended. And their fate will be decided later, says one at the US Navy HQ in Bahrain.

The MV Magellan Star, a German freighter flying the flag of Antigua & Barbuda, had been attacked the previous day, September 8, in the Gulf of Aden, by pirates who had managed to take possession of it (1). It was the flagship of CTF 151, the Turkish TCG Gökçeada, which arrived first on site, responding to the crew's distress call, quickly joined by two American ships, the USS Dubuque (LPD8) and USS Princeton (CG59). The decision to attack was made quickly, given the circumstances. The crew had, in fact, taken refuge in a secure and hidden place on the ship, in accordance with international recommendations. This allowed an intervention without risk for the sailors. The 11 men of the crew (2 Russians, 1 Bulgarian, 1 Pole, 1 Ukrainian, 6 Filipinos) are safe and sound and no Marine was touched, specifies one on the American side.

(1) Another ship, Greek flying the Maltese flag, was also captured by the pirates yesterday, the MV Olib G.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)