France/Somalia - piracy

French capture 11 suspected pirates

Article published on the 2009-05-03 Latest update 2009-05-03 14:17 TU

Pirates captured by the Portuguese warship Corte-Real on 1 May
(Photo: Reuters/Nato handout)

The French navy on Sunday captured 11 suspected Somali pirates armed with two assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade-launcher in the Indian Ocean. Earlier Seychelles coastguards detained three suspected pirates and details emerged of a Pakistani-owned vessel hijacked Saturday.

The suspects were on board two skiffs and a "mother-ship" more than 500 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast when the French frigate Nivose captured them.

Somali pirates on Saturday hijacked a Pakistani-owned vessel, the MV Al-Misan, along with the MV Ariana, according to pirate commander Ahmed Abdi, who said that the Al-Misan is carrying vehicles, sugar and cooking oil.

But Pakistan's Minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Khan Ghouri,  denied the report, saying that a ship had escaped the pirates two days ago.

"One of the two ships we hijacked yesterday is confirmed to have been chartered by Somali traders and there are already talks to release it. I think it will happen today," Abdi told the AFP news agency.

Local elders have confirmed that the ship was hijacked and that it was heading for Mogadishu from the United Arab Emirates. Abdullahi Moalim Barre, a trader with a stake in the cargo, told AFP that negotiations are under way to free the ship and its crew.

The ship is one of two that pirates said they hijacked on Saturday. The other, the MV Ariana, was initially reported to be British-owned and is now said to have both British and Greek owners. It is transporting 35,000 tonnes of sya beand and has a crew of 24 Ukrainians.

The Al-Misan's capture brings the number of vessels held by Somali pirates to 18.

The Seychelles coastguard has captured three suspected Somali pirates, the country's President announced Sunday.

"The three men identified themselves as Somali," a Presidential statement said. "They were travelling in a six-metre skiff with several barrels of fuel and water on board."

The capture took place after the European naval mission Operation Atalanta tipped the coastguard off that the boat was in its exclusive economic zone.

"We are exceedingly encouraged by this latest suspected pirate arrest," said President James Michel. "The arrest is further indication that a co-ordinated approach is an effective means of combating piracy in the region."