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News – Africa: Helicopter thwarts pirate hijacking

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Original Post Date: 2008-12-14 Time: 09:00:10  Posted By: Jan

Somali pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden before a foreign navy helicopter intervened to foil the attack, a Kenyan maritime official said Sunday.

Andrew Mwangura, who heads the Kenyan chapter of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, did not identify the targeted vessel but said in a statement that the attack took place on Saturday.

“The pirates fired two rockets and many shots from their automatic weapons,” he said. “A coalition helicopter came to assist the ship and the pirates aborted the attempt.”

Mwangura did not say to which navy the helicopter belonged.

Since attacks and hijackings by ransom-hunting Somali pirates surged in 2008, foreign navies have intensified their patrols of the Gulf of Aden, a crucial maritime trade route.

The European Union and NATO have dispatched naval forces to the region, joining an already existing 16-country coalition and other national navies, but increasingly bold and well-equipped pirates have continued their attacks.

Somali pirates are still holding at least 14 foreign vessels and more than 300 crew members to ransom, including an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo and a Saudi-owned super-tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil.

In a separate incident on Saturday, pirates attacked an Ethiopian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Aden but a nearby Indian naval vessel responded to a distress call and sent its marine commandos, the Indian navy said.

A statement said 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates surrendered on boarding and were detained. -Sapa-AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20081214132418200C159728