Somali pirates seize Thai fishing vessels, 77 crew: EU force

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- Pirates have seized three Thai fishing vessels with a total of 77 crew and were taking them toward the coast of Somalia, a spokesman for the EU naval force in the area said Tuesday.

"The three vessels were attacked by pirates about 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 kilometres) from the Somali coast," EUNAVFOR spokesman Commander John Harbour said.

"It's the furthest east that any attack and any hijacking has taken place, certainly since EUNAVFOR arrived in the area December 2008," he said.

The crew members seized in the attack, which took place on Sunday, were all Thai, he said.

"I can say, having confirmed through the owner, that all the crew are safe and well. The vessels are presently on a heading towards the Somali coast. EUNAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation," Harbour added.

Since 2008, an international flotilla of warships has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the globe's busiest maritime trade routes, to stop Somali pirates from hijacking commercial vessels.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-04-20

Published with written approval from AFP.

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Were they wearing red?

Assuming a direct course is steered and the speed made good is 10 knots that gives the good guys patrolling 5 days to get their act together and intercept.

One wonders after hearing so many stories of men being enslaved on Thai fishing vessels, if some of the detainees might not ask for asylum.

...but they never seem to intercept. Scared the hostages might be harmed if they trigger a firefight.

There are other Thai-flagged and owned trawlers that have been in captivity in Somali hostage ports since last year but the crews are not Thai. Now they have 77 Thais.

spay the pirate boats with some fuel and let them decide the next move ( to open fire )

Wonder which side will pay for the release of crew/ship first?

spay the pirate boats with some fuel and let them decide the next move ( to open fire )

I think you'll find that the pirates are aboard the Thai Fishing Vessels.

I wonder if the EUNAVFOR could use the assistance of an aircraft carrier that 's not busy at the moment?

What I don't understand is why the shipping companies don't arm their crews.

traxster; What would you arm the crew with, cook=flame thrower, kidding of course, but these are fishermen not mercenaries willing to get in a firefight for the right price. Fishing boats, due to profit margins, would probably be reluctant to spend monies on security, as could/would the huge oil tankers etc. Several times the monies paid for release of ships and crews was indicated to come from insurance companies. This insurance fees, payout, conditions of payout, etc may have a influence on both sides as casualties, property/personnel wise do not seem common.

A friend of mine, is/was on contract for nonlethal security for a tanker awhile back (2 or 3 months). He told me that they successfully repelled a attempted boarding. He did not describe the system utilized, for oblivious reasons, but knowing him and his mind set, doubt if it comes cheap.

One wonders after hearing so many stories of men being enslaved on Thai fishing vessels, if some of the detainees might not ask for asylum.

In Somalia?

I remembered an event that occurred about 5 years ago where a sonic weapon was used against them and looked it up, here is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4418748.stm

BB

I wonder if the EUNAVFOR could use the assistance of an aircraft carrier that 's not busy at the moment?

Yeah - I'm sure there are some floating around somewhere not doing anything particularly worthwhile.... The presense of a carrier might offer some additional capability, but the ocean frontier involved is huge. And once the ship's been boarded, what can overflying aircraft really do except observe & report - hardly something that justifies their being diverted from other taskings.

What I don't understand is why the shipping companies don't arm their crews.

Many host countries prohibit merchant vessels from carrying weapons into port (other than perhaps a couple of 45s - hardly enough to deter pirates armed with automatic weapons and RPGs). Some think that arming merchants would, in the long run, just escalate the violence, and do nothing but put crews in greater personal danger. Some crewmen themselves resist the idea of being armed thinking along these lines. Also, their duties are defined by their union-negotiated contracts, and weapons training and ship (& cargo) defense against pirates just aren't part of the deal... Everybody knows the shipping companies are paying the ransoms - better for all directly involved to, in most cases, just stay calm, sit tight, and wait it out.

Edited April 21, 201016 yr by hawker9000

Nobody remembers here?years ago there was a lot of piracy going on on Siam Bay.It was very ugly - victims were robbed,raped and murdered;they were refugees from Vietnam - boat people,so called.

The perpetrators? - Thai fishermen.They had earned a lot of bad karma that time.Nobody was caught or prosecuted.Today they will get little bit of what they had deserved.