Navy storms pirate ship
2009-11-13 17:05
Paris - French commandos stormed aboard a Somali pirate "mothership" and arrested 12 gunmen, the military announced Friday, adding that the gangs are increasingly operating in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean.
Tipped off by spotters on a Luxembourg maritime reconnaissance plane, the French frigate Floreal intercepted a dhow towing two motorised skiffs 500 nautical miles northwest of the Seychelles on Thursday.
A helicopter from the warship fired a warning shot across the vessel's bows as its crew began to throw incriminating material over the side. French troops boarded the ship and arrested the pirates without violence.
On board they found grappling hooks, GPS navigation devices and assault rifles, French military spokesman Admiral Christophe Prazuck said in Paris.
Faction fighting
"Last year or at the start of this one the centre of gravity was in the Gulf of Aden," Prazuck said, referring to the straits between Arabia and the Horn of Africa that have become notorious for pirate attacks.
"The European team in place has significantly reduced the number of boats taken hostage. Though they still threaten the Gulf of Aden, the pirates have switched their activity further offshore into the Indian Ocean."
Prazuck said pirates were now striking in areas up to 800 nautical miles from their bases on the coast of Somalia, a lawless and largely ungoverned African state plagued by faction-fighting.
Several naval task forces now carry out anti-piracy patrols, including flotillas commanded by the European Union, Nato and the United States. Floreal is fighting under EU colours as part of Operation Atalante.