nastyleg
02-28-2010, 08:24 AM
Navy holding 8 suspected pirates
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and StripesStars and Stripes
Online Edition, Friday, February 26, 2010
NAPLES, Italy — The U.S. Navy is holding eight suspected pirates onboard the USS Farragut, a destroyer operating in the Somali Basin and assigned to multinational anti-piracy Combined Task Force 151.
The suspected pirates and their skiff were captured Monday as they attempted to board the MV Barakaale 1, a Tanzanian-flagged merchant vessel, about 150 miles east of Aden, Yemen, according to Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Francesca Woodman, spokeswoman for Combined Maritime Forces, which includes CTF 151.
Officials from Naval Criminal Investigative Services will interview the commander of the Barakaale this weekend before deciding the fate of the suspected pirates, Woodman said Thursday. She had no information on the suspects or the Barakaale’s cargo.
An SH-60B Seahawk helicopter from the Farragut came to the Barakaale’s aid after the ship radioed for help when the pirates tried to board, according to a CMF statement released on the incident.
One of the skiff’s crewmembers fell into the water while the Barakaale tried to outmaneuver the pirate craft. The skiff’s crew fished their accomplice out of the water and tried again to board Barakaale.
At that point, the Navy helicopter arrived and issued repeated warnings to the pirates, finally firing warning shots across the bow of the skiff, forcing it to a stop, according to CMF.
A team from the Farragut took the suspects into custody and towed the skiff behind the Navy ship.
Authority to hold suspected pirates comes from “customary and conventional international law” along with several U.N. Security Council resolutions signed last year that specifically address the piracy problem, Woodman said.
None of the suspected pirates was injured during the capture, CMF officials said.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68339
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and StripesStars and Stripes
Online Edition, Friday, February 26, 2010
NAPLES, Italy — The U.S. Navy is holding eight suspected pirates onboard the USS Farragut, a destroyer operating in the Somali Basin and assigned to multinational anti-piracy Combined Task Force 151.
The suspected pirates and their skiff were captured Monday as they attempted to board the MV Barakaale 1, a Tanzanian-flagged merchant vessel, about 150 miles east of Aden, Yemen, according to Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Francesca Woodman, spokeswoman for Combined Maritime Forces, which includes CTF 151.
Officials from Naval Criminal Investigative Services will interview the commander of the Barakaale this weekend before deciding the fate of the suspected pirates, Woodman said Thursday. She had no information on the suspects or the Barakaale’s cargo.
An SH-60B Seahawk helicopter from the Farragut came to the Barakaale’s aid after the ship radioed for help when the pirates tried to board, according to a CMF statement released on the incident.
One of the skiff’s crewmembers fell into the water while the Barakaale tried to outmaneuver the pirate craft. The skiff’s crew fished their accomplice out of the water and tried again to board Barakaale.
At that point, the Navy helicopter arrived and issued repeated warnings to the pirates, finally firing warning shots across the bow of the skiff, forcing it to a stop, according to CMF.
A team from the Farragut took the suspects into custody and towed the skiff behind the Navy ship.
Authority to hold suspected pirates comes from “customary and conventional international law” along with several U.N. Security Council resolutions signed last year that specifically address the piracy problem, Woodman said.
None of the suspected pirates was injured during the capture, CMF officials said.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68339