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Latest piracy news (March 27, 2011)

(BRUSSELS2) Hargeisa prison (Somaliland) is now complete and could be inaugurated soon. 88 of the pirates detained in this autonomous province of Somalia could be transferred there, as well as other pirates who are currently detained in other countries, notably in the Seychelles. Also read: Seychelles signs repatriation agreement for convicted pirates

Saturday (March 26). New Indian Navy force action. L'INS Suvarna intercepted a mother ship, the Mv Morteza, an Iranian trawler used by pirates as a mother ship, west of the Lakshadweep Islands, as it attempted to attack a merchant ship on Mv Maersk Kensington. 16 sailors (12 Iranians and 4 Pakistanis) were released and 16 Somali pirates arrested, according to the spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Defence. The mothership had been spotted by a TU142 maritime patrol aircraft around 11 a.m. The INS Survana which was patrolling the area as well as the coast guard vessel ICGS Sangram. The scene then is typical of the usual Indian mode of intervention: escape of the pirates, pursuit, warning shots, the mother ship catches fire, and everyone falls overboard, the Indian ships then only have to collect the survivors. Also read:

The two SH-60F and SH-60B helicopters (credit: US Navy / 3rd Class Robert Guerra)

Thursday (March 24). The MV Falcon Trader II, a merchant ship flying the Philippine flag, escapes a pirate attack. While the crew of 20 Filipino sailors took refuge in the citadel, two American helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) intervened. Warning shots are fired. The pirates leave the edge and jump into their skiff, pursued by the helicopter. As they reached the mother ship, the "pirates fired on the helicopter with small arms (AK-47). The helicopter and its crew not being armed, they turned back" declares the US Navy. "We could see the flashes of their AK-47s but we weren't hit," said Lt. Joshua A. Overn, the helicopter pilot. After conversing in Tagalog with the crew of the merchant ship, who had remained in the citadel the whole time, a visiting party from Leyte Gulf visited the ship the following day to ensure that the remaining weapons were seized and secure the ship. The crew was then able to exit and resume the journey.

Thursday (March 24). Arctic Sea Pirates on Trial. Six of the eight pirates who had tried to take the Arctic Sea were sentenced to 7 to 12 years in prison by a court in Arkhangelsk (Russia).

Wednesday (March 23) The "MSC EVA" escapes a pirate attack around 15 p.m. (Zulu) 650 miles west of Cochin (India), coordinates 9° North - 66° East. 2 pirate skiffs chase the ship, several shots are fired at the cabin, without additional damage. The ship managed to escape.

Wednesday (March 23). Search at Beluga. German police have raided the offices of German shipping group Beluga, looking for evidence of possible fraud committed by its former director, Niels Stolberg. A ship of this owner, the Mv Beluga Nomination was captured by pirates on January 22, after a bloody attack. The ship is still a prisoner of pirates, anchored off Harardere (Somalia). While the shipping company is today in great financial difficulty, trying to avoid bankruptcy, and the German press reports several frauds, in particular the swelling of the turnover with fictitious transactions. Also read: The Beluga affair becomes a legal affair. The questions arise...

Wednesday (March 23). British contribution to the fight against piracy. The United Kingdom announces a contribution of six million pounds to maritime surveillance against piracy in the Indian Ocean: 5,3 million for the program of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which carries out a program to increase penitentiary capacities in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Somalia) and train magistrates and police officers from several countries (Somalia, Kenya, Seychelles) + 600.000 pounds to improve the optical imaging equipment of the Seychelles coast guards.

Tuesday (March 22). L'avocets escape an attack. The Turkish bulk carrier "avocets" (owned by Eagle Bulk Shipping) escaped an attack around 14 p.m. Zulu, about 90 miles south of Al Mukalla (Yemen), 13° North - 49° East. The guards aboard the ship retaliate and fire. A mortally wounded pirate. A warship present in the area intervenes and captures the pirates. But they will be released, after being disarmed.

Tuesday (March 22). A canoe from Sinar Kudus destroy. The Australian ship HMAS Stuart, which is taking part in the coalition's anti-piracy operation CTF 151, detects, 230 miles south-east of Salalah (Oman), the MV Sinar Kudus, a freighter previously seized by the pirates which was dragging an empty skiff in tow. The Australian military strafed the boat making it unusable for an attack. No more information. Also read: New tactic. Pirates speed up the conversion of the pirated ship into a mother ship

Monday (March 21). A chemical tanker"Liquid crystal" is captured by pirates, around 12 p.m. (Zulu), about 525 miles east of Salalah (Oman), 17° north - 63° east, before being released. The ship's crew lock themselves in the engine room. The pirates land aboard this Greek ship which flies the Panamanian flag. They try to enter the wheelhouse. The crew will be released after 3h30, with the intervention of a warship. No pirate is arrested

Monday (March 21). An oil tanker"AL-Noufescapes an attack morning (9 a.m. Zulu), about 540 miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia) 3° North, 53° East. This ship from the United Arab Emirates, flying the Liberian flag, was attacked by a group of pirates made up of a mother ship (probably the Jih Chai Tsun 68), and two skiffs with 14 pirates on board, with small arms and RPGs. Part of the crew takes refuge in the citadel, except the captain, two crew members, and 3 members of the security team, remain on deck. Three sailors are hit by the shots, one of which was seriously.

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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