Pirates kill crew member after hijacking French yacht

[News_Editor]

Pirates kill crew member after hijacking French yacht

2011-09-11 07:30:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANA'A (BNO NEWS) -- Pirates killed a crew member on board a French sailing yacht when they hijacked the vessel earlier this week, the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR) confirmed on Saturday. A second crew member has now been rescued.

EUNAVFOR Commander Harrie Harrison said one of its warships responded to a distress call on Thursday and located the French sailing yacht Tribal Kat off the coast of Yemen. "At that time and following an inspection of the yacht, the crew could not be found," Harrison said.

On Saturday, the Spanish warship Galicia located and trailed a pirate skiff which was suspected to have carried out the attack on the Tribal Kat. "SPS Galicia then forced the skiff to stop," Harrison said. "One of the crew members was released safely and all of the suspect criminals were detained."

According to EUNAVFOR, the second crew member which was on board the Tribal Kat is believed to have been killed when the pirates boarded the yacht. His or her body has not yet been recovered. Harrison did not provide the nationalities of the crew members, but both are believed to be French.

The incident showed similarities to that of the American yacht S/V Quest, which was hijacked in mid-February. The four people on board the yacht, including a couple who were making an around-the-world trip that began in mid-December 2004, were brutally executed in an attempt to get U.S. warships to retreat.

Somali pirates are currently holding at least 17 vessels with 375 hostages off the coast of Somalia and neighboring countries, according to EUNAVFOR. The piracy monitoring group Ecoterra, however, says pirates are holding at least 50 vessels and 528 hostages.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months. The longest currently ongoing hijacking, according to EUNAVFOR, is that of the Panama-flagged MV Iceberg 1 which was hijacked on March 29, 2010, with 24 crew members. One of the hostages has since committed suicide while others are said to be mentally ill.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-11

[wloonen]

and do not forget to donate to the Somali starvation funds!!!!!!!!!