Pirates Free Thai Fishing Boat With Russia Crew

[george]

Pirates free Thai fishing boat with Russia crew

BRUSSELS, March 7, 2010 (AFP) - Somali pirates on Sunday freed a Thai fishing trawler, hijacked off east Africa in October last year, after the payment of a ransom, the EU's anti-piracy mission said.

The Russian foreign ministry said when the boat was captured that it carried a crew of 23 Russian sailors, two Filipinos and two Ghanaians.

"EU NAVFOR can confirm that early this morning a Thailand flagged fishing vessel (Thai Union 3) was released by pirates from the port of Heradere after the payment of a ransom," the mission said in a statement.

It did not give details of the ransom payout.

Heradere, a fishing village 330 kilometres (205 miles) north of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, is considered a base for pirates who have captured dozens of vessels in one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.

The Thai Union 3 was hijacked on October 29 about 320 kilometres (200 miles) north of the Seychelles and 1,040 kilometres (650 miles) from the Somali coast, the mission said.

Somali pirates hijacked 68 ships in 2009 and raked in an estimated 60 million dollars (44 million euros) in ransom money.

Pirates also boarded and seized a Norwegian-owned chemical tanker on Friday, the ship's owner said.

The UBT Ocean was captured off Madagascar and appeared to have been turned around to head north towards Somalia, said Norwegian shipowner Broevigtank.

The EU anti-piracy mission confirmed the hijacking and said the 21 crew were all from Myanmar.

On March 1 pirates captured a small Saudi tanker and its crew of 14 in the Gulf of Aden, Kenyan authorities said.

They are also holding an elderly British couple whose yacht was captured in October.

Turkey and France meanwhile announced at the weekend they had together captured 29 suspected pirates in the area.

The EU launched its Atalanta anti-piracy mission in a bid to secure the vital shipping lane, joining forces with US-led and NATO missions, as well as other warships dispatched by other naval powers.

But the unprecedented naval deployment failed to curb piracy as Somalia's marauding ransom hunters moved south and started venturing further out in the less heavily-patrolled Indian Ocean, notably towards the Seychelles.

Ransom drops pose a dilemma for governments and companies which want to recover their ships and crews but acknowledge that payments encourage further piracy.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-03-07

Published with written approval from AFP.

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[ScubaBuddha]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

[MSingh]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

& on the other side of the coin, it's a great way to get people completely raped & butchered...

[Basil B]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

If they did there are those who break the rules when they come under pressure at home.

My solution would be for the international community to use some heavy armed "Q" ships, blast them out the water then you do not have the problem of prisoners.

[tonglen]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

If they did there are those who break the rules when they come under pressure at home.

My solution would be for the international community to use some heavy armed "Q" ships, blast them out the water then you do not have the problem of prisoners.

I agree, instead of shooting them (and risking offending some on this forum), let's just sink their boats when theyre captured. If they can swim (and swim very well) they live, if they cant swim, it wasnt meant to be. Less prisoners. The prisoners are merely let go by that filthy, corrupt gov't anyway.

[johna]

China and Spain are taking around a billion $ of fish from these waters every year and, veto all UN resolutions that would curb their plunder of Somali natural resources. Somali having no effective government is unable to halt this plunder.

Brit, American, Danish, and French warships etc, patrol these waters but, don't really want to do more than shoo away pirate boats for fear of repercussions.

Interesting to see that Russians are working on board Thai fishing vessels, is this because Russians are now cheaper labor ??

[tonglen]

China and Spain are taking around a billion $ of fish from these waters every year and, veto all UN resolutions that would curb their plunder of Somali natural resources. Somali having no effective government is unable to halt this plunder.

A few questions for you, because maybe I missed something from your post, I frequently do miss things....

Are you saying the reason for piracy in Somalia is fishing? Are they ECO-PIRATES now?

And, are we then to assume that before the 'plunder of Somali natural resources' that there was no piracy?

Do you, therefore, think piracy in Somalia is acceptable?

By the way, these very poor "pirates" get very little from the actual heist with which to feed their starving families. The majority goes to fund drug lords and terrorism.

[OZEMADE]

Blow all the highjacked ships out of the water while they are in port, regardless of how big they are. Oil tankers and all.

[RKASA]

In the old days they would follow the pirates home and sake the town with canon fire. Mazlow's theory that an emotional event changes behavior, and some peer pressure at home helps.

[crusty]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

If they did there are those who break the rules when they come under pressure at home.

My solution would be for the international community to use some heavy armed "Q" ships, blast them out the water then you do not have the problem of prisoners.

Correct ! Just as we (R.A.N.) did in the 60's during Confrontasi in the Malacca Strait. Indo pirates and infiltrators in booby trapped sampans stopped immediately after a bit of target practice using Bofors and Brens !

[shawndoc]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

Because then they'll stop taking hostages. Instead they'll kill everyone on board, make off with anything of value that can be sold on the black market, and scuttle the boat.

[TAWP]

Interesting to see that Russians are working on board Thai fishing vessels, is this because Russians are now cheaper labor ??

No, it only means the ship was Thai-registered.

[ScubaBuddha]

I've never understood why the international community doesn't all agree that no ransoms will be paid, period. That is a simple way to stop hijackings overnight.

& on the other side of the coin, it's a great way to get people completely raped & butchered...

True but that will only happen once.