Spanish War Plane Prevents Hijacking Off Somalia Coast
By VOA News
29 October 2008
Spain's Defense Ministry says one of its patrol planes has helped prevent a hijacking in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
In a statement Wednesday, the ministry said its PS Orion aircraft received a distress call from the Panamanian-registered oil tanker Leander, indicating it was being attacked by pirates.
The ministry said the plane flew to the scene, about 210 kilometers off the coast of Somalia and circled the ship three times, launching smoke bombs toward the small, pirate boats.
The plane reported that, after the third pass, the pirates gave up their attack and retreated.
Maritime officials say pirates in the Gulf of Aden have attacked more than 60 ships this year and hijacked at least 30.
Earlier this week, a NATO warship escorted a cargo vessel to a port in Somalia, in the first such mission since NATO ships arrived in the region to fight piracy.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the warship accompanied a vessel taking supplies to Burundian peacekeepers in Somalia.
NATO has dispatched seven ships to join the international effort against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and along Somalia's eastern coast.
Meanwhile, Germany today approved a 13-month extension of its monitoring mission in the Gulf of Aden, though it lowered the number of troops allowed on the mission from 1,400 to 800. Germany currently has 90 soldiers in the region.
Somalia's interim government is fighting an Islamist insurgency and has been unable to patrol the coastline.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
