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Latest piracy news (March 4, 2012)

(BRUSSELS2)

A dhow captured by pirates

A fishing dhow was captured by pirates on February 28, about 150 miles north of the island of Socotra (15° North and 54° East). It could be used as a mother ship by pirates, according to maritime anti-piracy forces.

...and a captured merchant ship

Le Mv Royal Grace was captured by pirates on March 2 east of Oman (21° North and 62° East). After an attack around noon UTC, in the Gulf of Oman at 21° North 62° East, the chemical tanker flying the Panamanian flag set off for Somalia with 22 sailors on board (Indians, Pakistanis and Nigerians). An email received by the owners of the ship confirmed the act of piracy. The pirates would belong to the clan Majeerteen according to Somalia Report

Thwarted attack on a merchant ship...

The Mv Spiliani, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, was attacked early in the morning of February 28 by pirates in the Bab-el Mandeb Strait (at 12° North, 43° East) by two pirate skiffs. Shots were exchanged. The attack repelled.

(credit: German Navy / Eunavfor)
... and the release of an Indian dhow

The FGS Berlin helicopter sent to the scene spotted the pirate skiff, and a dhow called Ashma, flying the Indian flag, apparently used as a mother ship by the pirates. 25 Indian sailors appeared on board. These having threatened to attack the hostages, the FGS Berlin remained at a distance. When night came, the two pirate skiffs were however destroyed by the German helicopter, on the orders of the commander, to cut short any possibility of an additional attack. The pirates negotiated to be able to continue to the Somali coast and then release the crew and the Indian dhow. The boarding party of the German ship was then able to visit the dhow, 4 crew members then received medical attention. And after delivering food and water to the Indian crew, the dhow was able to continue its journey to its next port of call.

Taipan trial: One of the suspects admits "everything was organized"

In the trial being held in Hamburg (Germany), one of the defendants made a full confession at the end of February and provided new details about the attack on the Hamburg freighter, the "Taipan". Far from the initial version which said that they had been forced to raid the freighter, in April 2010, the 29-year-old man said: " We all wanted to take part in the attack. Everything else is a fairy tale. The division of roles was clear. “We were hired, everyone knew their job. He himself had “been hired as an interpreter to speak with the crew. And his accomplices had received Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket launchers, sponsors. Precise terms had been specified, both for the treatment of hostages and for the distribution of the ransom, recorded in writing. " Everyone signed it. »

Puntland Marine Police in Eyl

Puntland Marine Police forces entered Eyl, Somali Report reported on March 3. And they started building a little airstrip, a well, to establish a base for anti-piracy operations. Puntland recently recruited 400 additional personnel, which should bring the maritime police to about half of the planned strength of 1000 men. Eyl, which was previously the haunt of the pirate king, Boyah, now imprisoned in Bossasso, had been freed from pirates since mid-2010 who had preferred to go to quieter haunts towards Gamadug.

Also read this week:

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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