Latest piracy news (November 22, 2011)
(BRUSSELS2) According to the latest report established by the NGO Ecoterra, 28 merchant ships and 19 smaller boats were, on November 20, in the hands of pirates who still hold 482 hostages. A slightly lower toll on the Eunavfor side (which only counts merchant ships): 10 ships and 243 sailors in the hands of pirates. Piracy activity in recent days has, however, seen a slight weakening, according to the latest daily NATO notes. Two areas remain delicate: the Bab el Manded Strait in the north, and that of Mozambique in the south, where several pirate skiffs seem to operate.
Common “Saxon” survey pool
Dutch and Germans will form a joint investigation team into piracy incidents. The news was announced by the Dutch public prosecutor's office on Thursday (November 17). This team will focus on the criminal ramifications of piracy, its financing, the negotiators, the sponsors of piracy. The team will include military police and police investigators from the Dutch side, the state investigation service of Lower Saxony and the federal police in Berlin, as well as members of Eurojust and Europol. For investigators, there are a number of links between the different piracy cases that it is important to trace.
Algerian sailors recount their captivity
The Algerian sailors from the MV Blida who have just been released recounted their ordeal to fellow journalists. “ Initially, we were afraid of a deadly attack. Afterwards, they killed us psychologically every day,” tells AFP Mohamed Aït Ramdane, the machinist. Going three or four days without food, water unfit for consumption, beaten if necessary, detention by Somali pirates looks like anything but fun. They were very thin, with red eyes, in loincloths or military uniform. “ In the evening, the pirates chewed their khat, drinking lots of tea. And they were often drunk,” say the sailors. The boat changed places often. They owe their release to the money paid. “The day we were liberated, the pirate leader came with nearly 150 men. A plane parachuted a bag full of money. (…) The leader of the pirates went up on the bridge with the Ukrainian captain and both counted the money.”
Road accident in Somalia
In Somalia, five pirates were injured, two of them seriously, in… a road accident on Sunday (November 20), according to Somalia report. They lost control of their Toyota Hilux 4X4. On board, a pirate leader, Mohamed Aargooste, suspected of being involved in the capture of the Greek chemical tanker Liquid Velvet. The injured were transported to Yemen for treatment according to local sources.
A British private guard murdered in Reunion
A British private guard, Carl Davies, was found dead on Reunion Island on November 9. A murder according to the first elements of the investigation as revealed by an autopsy carried out on Thursday November 17. The man, aged 33, former special forces, was protecting the ship Atlantic Rider, was raped and killed, injured in the head by a knife. An investigation was launched, entrusted to the departmental security criminal brigade.
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