Dutch Forces Free Pirate Captives BBC NEWS

Dutch commandos have freed 20 fishermen whose vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates and used to launch an attack against a tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The captives, all Yemeni, were freed when Dutch forces chased pirates back to the fishing town. It was being used by the pirates as a "mother ship" from which to launch armed attacks on commercial shipping. Meanwhile, Belgian officials say pirates have captured a dredger, the latest in a surge of pirate attacks.

The vessel, the Pompei, had been en route to the Seychelles.

National law

The Dutch took action after receiving a distress call from the Greek-managed tanker.

Intercepting the pirates, the troops then boarded the fishing vessel and freed the 20 Yemenis.

They had been held hostage since Sunday, Nato spokesman Alexandre Santos Fernandes said.

"We have freed the hostages, we have freed the dhow and we have seized the weapons," he told the Reuters news agency.

The spokesman said the pirates were set free because Nato does not have a maritime detainment policy, meaning Dutch national law would apply in this case.

"They can only arrest them if the pirates are from the Netherlands, the victims are from the Netherlands, or if they are in Netherlands waters," he said.

Crisis Communication

Meanwhile, Belgium's government has told the BBC that a Belgian-registered ship has been captured by Somali pirates. There had been no communication with the dredging vessel, the Pompei, since it sent two alarm signals early on Saturday.

about 600 km (373 miles) from the Somali coast and heading for the Seychelles. Satellite pictures show that the ship is not moving.

"This morning we received through two different channels, a silent alert, that there was a problem on the boat, which is a Belgian boat on its way to the Seychelles," said Peter Mertens, a spokesman for the Belgian government's crisis centre.

"We tried to have a contact with the ship but without success until now.

Reuters quoted an unnamed pirate as confirming the hijack in a telephone call in which he said the attackers would take the ship to the Somali port of Haradheere.

Pirates have intensified attacks on shipping in recent weeks in one of the world's busiest sea lanes, despite patrols by the US and other navies.

Reports say they are currently holding more than 280 crew members and 15 cargo ships.

The Dutch success is the latest in a string of recent Western military operations against the pirates.

French and US troops have both taken action against pirates in recent days. The French rescued three people from a captured yacht in an assault which saw one man killed.

Earlier this week US troops killed three pirates and captured another as they rescued the American captain of a tanker from captivity.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently unveiled a plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off Somalia.

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Pirates Attack Tanker as NATO Frees 20 Fishermen

Saturday, April 18, 2009

April 18:

NAIROBI, Kenya  —  Somali pirates attacked a tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, but NATO forces chased them down and freed 20 Yemeni fisherman the pirates were holding on another hijacked boat.

A second ship was also reported to be under attack by pirates in the Indian Ocean, further southeast near the Seychelles islands.

The latest violence underscores the dangers in the seas off the Horn of Africa nation. Pirates from anarchic, clan-ruled Somalia have attacked more than 80 boats this year and still hold 15 cargo ships and over 280 crew members hostage.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Handytankers Magic issued a distress call shortly after dawn when pirates attacked it with small arms and rockets in the Gulf of Aden, said Portuguese Lt.-Capt. Alexandre Santos Fernandes, who is traveling with the NATO fleet patrolling the region.

A Dutch frigate from the NATO force spotted the pirates fleeing "on a small white skiff, which tried to evade and proceed toward a Yemeni-flagged fishing dhow" that had been sized by the pirates Sunday, Fernandes said.

He said pirates were using the Yemeni vessel as a "mother ship," a boat that allows the pirates' tiny skiffs to operate far off the Somali coast.

The Dutch ship intercepted the pirate skiff and its forces then boarded the Yemeni vessel, freeing 20 Yemeni fishermen. They also detained seven pirates and seized seven Kalashnikov rifles and one rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Meanwhile, a Belgian-flagged ship was also attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred miles north of the Seychelles islands, said Portuguese Lt. Cmdr. Alexandre Santos Fernandes, who is traveling with the NATO fleet patrolling the region.

Belgium reported the ship, the Pompei, issued two warnings early Saturday morning that it was under attack on its way to the Seychelles. It had 10 crew: two Belgians, one Dutch, three Filipinos and four Croatians.

A Nairobi-based diplomat confirmed that incident, saying it took place about 150 miles north of the Seychelles. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

An international flotilla including warships from the United States and the European Union has been trying to fight piracy in the Horn of Africa, particularly the Gulf of Aden — a vital short cut between Europe and Asia that is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. But pirates attacks continue unabated.

AccuWeather.com says weather in the region is likely to favor the pirates for the next several weeks. Very small waves and light winds make it easier for the pirates to operate the small speedboats they use to attack ships. Unrestricted visibility at day will help lookouts on vessels watching for attacks, but little or no moonlight works for the brigands, the weather service said.

Fernandes said NATO forces would eventually release the seven pirates who attacked the Handytankers Magic. "Due to Dutch internal law, under the circumstances they were intercepted, we will have to let them go," he said, without elaborating.

Pirates plucked from the sea by navy warships could be tried anywhere from Mombasa to New York, Paris to Rotterdam — but most are simply set free to wreak havoc again because of legal issues.

The United States, the European Union and Britain all have signed agreements with Somalia's southern neighbor, Kenya, clearing the way for a slew of court cases in the southern port city of Mombasa. And the most prominent recent case — a scrawny Somali teenage pirate who stormed the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama this month and was later arrested by the U.S. Navy — will be tried in New York.

French soldiers take pirates who have attacked French citizens to Paris; pirates who have attacked other nations are hauled to Kenya, such as the 11 seized Wednesday when the French navy found them stalking a Lebanese-owned ship. India took 24 suspects to Yemen, since half were from there. The Dutch took five suspects to Rotterdam, where they probably will be tried next month under a 17th-century law against "sea robbery."

Among the difficulties facing prosecutors is assembling witnesses scattered across the globe and finding translators. Many countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trial for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms.

Kenya is the most popular destination for suspected pirates. But diplomats privately fear it could take years to prosecute pirates there because of a huge backlog of all sorts of cases in the country's courts.

Britain, the U.S., Germany and France have brought suspects to Kenya, which convicted 10 pirates arrested by U.S. sailors last year. Each is serving a sentence of seven years — the maximum.

A small town in Vermont, meanwhile, celebrated the return of the unassuming shipping captain lauded for helping his crew survive a piracy attack off Somalia.

Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, arrived Friday at his farmhouse in Underhill with his wife, Andrea, to find their home festooned with ribbons and "Welcome Home" balloons, the road full of flag-waving, cheering friends and neighbors.

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Double Dutch: Commandos capture Somali pirates and free 20 hostages ... but release the bandits because they're not from the Netherlands

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:05 PM on 18th April 2009

Dutch forces have freed 20 hostages whose vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates and used to launch an attack against a tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The commandos briefly detained and questioned seven gunmen,  but were forced to let them go because they had no legal power to arrest them under Dutch law.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that a Belgian ship has been hijacked by Somali gunmen today.

Dutch forces arrested seven pirates but were forced to set them free because they had no legal power to arrest them (file picture)

The Dutch commandos on the HNLMS De Zeven Provincien rescued the captives after chasing the pirates back to the fishing dhow by following the smaller craft used in the attack.

The traditional Arab sailing vessel was being used by the pirates as a 'mother ship' from which to launch armed attacks on commercial shipping.

Its 20 captives were Yemeni fishermen, who had been held hostage since Sunday.

Nato Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes said: 'We have freed the hostages, we have freed the dhow and we have seized the weapons.'

Dutch forces captured the pirates off the Gulf of Aden

He explained the pirates were set free because under Dutch law they could not be held at sea under the circumstances in which they were captured.

Speaking from on board a Portuguese warship further north in the Gulf of Aden, Fernandes said: 'They can only arrest them if the pirates are from the Netherlands, the victims are from the Netherlands, or if they are in Netherlands waters.'