Airplanes and a ship of a European counter-piracy operation intercepted a group of suspected Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday.

The presumed pirates were detected off the Seychelles, some 1500 kilometers from the coast of Somalia. Also on Wednesday, the US merchant vessel Maersk Alabama came under pirate attack for the second time this year. Armed guards repelled the attack.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide reporter Hans de Vreij is currently on board of the flagship of the EU naval detachment, the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen and filed this report: 

The successful interception of a group of Somalian pirates to the North of the Seychelles Islands demonstrates two things. One, that pirates now operate at huge distances from the Somalian coast, and two, that in spite of that, they can be detected and boarded in a timely manner.

In this case, it was information from a Spanish fishing vessel that triggered the operation. The force commander of the EU counter-piracy operation ‘Atalanta’ ordered a reconnaissance plane based on the Seychelles to take a closer look and, based on their findings, dispatched a navy ship to intercept the suspected pirates. Commodore Pieter Bindt explains:

“At these distances, with no fishing gear, no smell of fish, no trade, then there is only one reason for being at sea. Also, the aircraft photographed the skiffs and there were still ladders on board, and there is nothing to paint in the Indian Ocean. So that makes them suspect pirates.”

In this case, the EU naval force found one larger open boat and two smaller skiffs. The skiffs were sunk and the suspected pirates told to return to their country. No arrests were made, as a successful legal prosecution can usually only take place if and when pirates are caught red-handed, in other words during an actual attempt to attack a merchant vessel.

Pirates broaden horizon
Until this summer, most pirate attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen. But the international community is now effectively protecting a passage route through the Gulf. And since July, not a single ship has been hijacked by Somalian pirates in this area. The pirates have now focused their attention on the Indian Ocean, operating at great distances from Somalia itself. Commodore Bindt says:

“They use open boats - in the media they are often reported as mother ships, but they are open boats, about nine tot eleven meters long. They put about 12 to 17 fuel barrels in it, diesel for the larger skiff which has an inboard motor, and barrels with petrol for the outboard motors.”

US tanker attacked again
There was another remarkable event on Wednesday: for the second time this year, the US container ship Maersk Alabama came under attacked from Somali pirates. They probably did not know that, unlike the first hijacking attempt last April, the US vessel now had armed guards on board as well as a special acoustic device that projects a loud sound beam.

The private security guards repelled the attack, reportedly leaving one of the pirates wounded. At United Nations headquarters in New York, a US spokesman called for an intensification of the international fight against piracy. The US also voiced its opposition to the practice of shipping companies paying a ransom for the release of hijacked ships.

Update
On Thursday, a second group of Somalian pirates was succesfully intercepted in roughly the same area as the first one. It consisted of a 'mother' skiff and one smaller attack skiff. The latter was sunk, the pirates were sent home.
 

Links:

EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta
Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa