French raid pirate ship
2009-04-16 09:04
Mombasa - French forces captured a suspected Somali pirate supply ship as the United States fought the marauders on the diplomatic front, seeking ways to keep them from their spoils.
A US freighter that escaped a pirate bombardment of gunshots and grenades steamed into Kenya's Mombasa port on Thursday with an armed Navy guard.
One pirate issued a new threat on Wednesday to "slaughter" Americans, and Tuesday's assault on a second US cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, underscored the outlaws' ability to act with impunity despite international naval operations against them and mounting concern worldwide over how to end the escalating attacks off the Horn of Africa.
Pirates bombarded the US-flagged Liberty Sun with automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades, but its American crew of about 20 successfully blockaded themselves in the engine room and warded off the attack with evasive manoeuvres.
The ship, carrying food aid for hungry Africans - including Somalis - was damaged "pretty badly" on its bridge, a US official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the record about the ship.
Windows were blown out and the crew had to put out a small fire, the official said, but they were still able to navigate. By the time the USS Bainbridge arrived five hours later, the pirates were gone.
Greater action
Meanwhile, French naval forces launched an early-morning attack on Wednesday on a suspected pirate "mother ship" 885 kilometres east of Mombasa and seized 11 men, thwarting an attack on the Liberian cargo ship Safmarine Asia, the French Defence Ministry said. No one was injured.
The ministry said the vessel was a larger ship that pirates use to allow their tiny skiffs to operate hundreds of miles off the coast.
French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Prazuck said a French helicopter in the area heard a distress call from the Safmarine Asia. He described the seized ship as a small, non-commercial vessel carrying fuel, water and food supplies.
The 11 pirates, believed to be Somalis, were being held on the Nivose, a French frigate among the international fleet trying to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden.
France has been proactive against pirates for at least the past year, intervening to save three of its ships and spearheading a Europe-wide anti-piracy force called Atalanta. French politicians have sought to have other European countries take greater action against pirates.
Three Somali pirates in the French city of Rennes faced judicial investigation after being captured in a hostage rescue on Friday. Several other pirates also have been in French custody since last year.
New diplomatic efforts
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced new diplomatic efforts to freeze the pirates' assets and said the Obama administration will work with shippers and insurers to improve their defences against pirates, part of a diplomatic initiative to thwart attacks on shipping.
"These pirates are criminals, they are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped," Clinton said at the State Department.
Clinton did not call for military force, although she mentioned "going after" pirate bases in Somalia, as authorised by the UN several months ago.
She said it may be possible to stop boat-building companies from doing business with the pirates.
The measures outlined by Clinton are largely stopgap moves while the administration weighs more comprehensive diplomatic and military action.
She acknowledged it will be hard to find the pirates' assets. But she wants the US and others to "explore ways to track and freeze" pirate ransom money and other funds used in purchases of new boats, weapons and communications equipment.
"We have noticed that the pirates are buying more and more sophisticated equipment, they're buying faster and more capable vessels, they are clearly using their ransom money for their benefit - both personally and on behalf of their piracy," she said. "We think we can begin to try and track and prevent that from happening."
Clinton said the administration will also call for immediate meetings of an international counter piracy task force to expand naval co-ordination.
Organise meetings
The US plans to send an envoy to an April 23 conference on piracy in Brussels. The US will also organise meetings with officials from Somalia's largely powerless transitional national government as well as regional leaders in its semiautonomous Puntland region to encourage them to do more to combat piracy.
Maritime experts say military force alone cannot solve the problem because the pirates operate in an area so vast as to render the flotilla of international warships largely ineffective. And with ships legally unable to carry arms in many ports, the world has struggled to end the scourge.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is the shortest route from Asia to Europe. More than 20 000 ships cross the vital sea lane every year. It is becoming more dangerous by the day.
In 2003, there were only 21 attacks in these waters. In less than four months this year, there have been 79 attacks, compared with 111 for all of 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Somali pirates are holding more than 280 foreign crewmen on 15 ships - at least 76 of those sailors captured in recent days.
On Wednesday, pirates released the Greek-owned cargo ship Titan and Greek authorities said all 24 crewmen were in good health. The ship was hijacked on March 19.
- AP