NATO thwarts hijack off Somalia, seizes dynamite

[steven johnson]

Source: Associated Press

By KATHARINE HOURELD –

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker, but later freed the 19 men. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, another band of pirates hijacked a cargo ship, a NATO spokesman said Saturday.

The attack on the Ariana, about 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) from the sea corridor NATO guards and the seizure of explosives from the group that attacked the crude oil tanker MV Kition may indicate the pirates are adapting their tactics as crews become better trained in counter-piracy measures.

Sailors are aware that pirates generally attack during the day and that some guidelines suggest designating a safe room with a bulletproof door where crews can lock themselves in case of an attack. Such a room would still be vulnerable to being blown open with explosives.

It was the first time NATO forces found pirates armed with raw explosives, Lt. Cmdr. Fernandes said from the Portuguese frigate the Corte-Real, which responded to the attack. The Corte-Real had sent a helicopter to investigate a distress call from the Greek-owned and Bahamian-flagged Kition late Friday about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north from the Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden.



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[muriel_volestrangler]

1. These national laws of "they can only be arrested if they attack our own nationals" have to go

It's ridiculous that they know these pirates attacked a ship, but because it had no Portuguese sailors on it, they had to let them go. The Dutch did the same a few weeks ago. In international waters, when the criminal act has already happened, any military should be able to make arrests.

[Alexander]

2. Why not just bring the pirates to a country where they can be tried?

I don't see what's so hard about that, if it keeps the pirates in jail where they belong.

[Igel]

3. What a wonderful example ...

of how the 'right to know'--when applied to bad guys--is a bad thing.

Tell the world about the security precautions and you've told the people the security is intended to stop exactly what they have to adapt to. Now, they'd eventually find out, but 'eventually' provides a bit of safety for a time.

I really wish, sometimes, that the security companies that provide services to reporters' residences, as well as to the newspaper offices themselves, would make available all the security precautions--wiring diagrams, guard patrol times, exactly where the alarms are placed. But that would be "confidential" and our "right to know" is mostly their "need for juicy stories."