Canadian warship called into action after Somali pirates attack
By Jorge Barrera and
Katie DeRosa,
Canwest News Service and
Victoria Times Colonist
April 14, 2009
A Canadian warship was in the thick of the action Tuesday after Somali pirates launched a brazen, moonlit hijacking
of a Greek-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden.
HMCS Winnipeg received a distress call from the MV Irene E.M. that the vessel was being attacked by pirates.
At the time, the warship was escorting another vessel 185 kilometres away and was unable to respond immediately.
The ship gradually drew closer to the threatened vessel and, five hours after the initial call, dispatched its Sea King
helicopter to contact the vessel which, by then, had been taken over by Somali pirates.
"Our helicopter was able to find her and hailed the vessel and had a short conversation with the pirates and established
she was under pirate control," said Cmdr. Craig Baines, who heads the Vancouver Island-based warship currently engaged
in the NATO-led counter-piracy mission known as Operation Allied Protector.
The helicopter crew made sure the hostages on board were safe and returned to the Canadian frigate, Baines said.
The pirates are suspected to have weapons, Baines said.
But the pirates, mostly poor Somali fishermen lured by the money that can come with piracy, rarely harm their captives,
said Baines, in the hope of negotiating large ransoms for the vessel.
"They are out for economic gain, so it doesn't (do) them any good to harm anyone on board," Baines said.
The Greek ship was one of two vessels captured by Somali pirates Tuesday in attacks that showed a determination to go
on striking at shipping on the region's strategic trade routes.
The capture of the MV Irene E.M. and the Togo-flagged MV Sea Horse were a clear sign pirate gangs have not been deterred
by two raids in recent days in which U.S. and French special forces have killed five pirates.
HMCS Winnipeg was the closest NATO vessel to the Greek merchant ship, which was travelling to India from Jordan, said NATO
spokeswoman Shona Lowe.
Lowe said NATO continues to monitor the situation and further involvement by HMCS Winnipeg will depend on the demands of
the situation as it unfolds.
The Somali pirates used the cover of night and their position far away from NATO warships to take control of the Greek vessel
within five minutes of the initial attack, Baines said.
The Greek merchant marine ministry said the Irene E.M.'s crew were all Filipinos, said NATO Lt.-Cmdr. Alexandre Fernandes.
"There are hostages, so now we will shadow and monitor the situation," Fernandes said.
Foreign navies are patrolling the seas off Somalia. But the pirates have continued to evade capture, driving up insurance costs
and defying the world's most powerful militaries.
The latest hijacking by Somalia-based pirates comes in the wake of Sunday's high-seas drama, when a U.S. ship captain was
freed after his three Somali captors were cut down by U.S. snipers. Two days earlier, French forces raided a hijacked yacht,
killing two pirates. A French hostage was also killed.
Somali pirates have since vowed revenge against U.S. and French citizens.
HMCS Winnipeg managed to disrupt suspected pirate operations twice this month.
Late last week, the frigate sent out its Sea King helicopter after receiving a distress call of an apparent pirate attack. The
helicopter located the suspected pirates during the nighttime operation and boarded a skiff along with a larger boat to search
for weapons, which were believed to have been thrown overboard before the Canadians arrived.
On April 4, HMCS Winnipeg thwarted another attempted pirate attack when it spotted three pirate skiffs closing in on an
Indian merchant vessel. The Sea King helicopter was dispatched and flew between the threatened vessel and the pirates
who backed off.
"We are having an effect out here," Baines said, underscoring the importance of patrolling the busy commercial passage.
"However, because of the huge area we are working in and the extremely large number of ships that work out here, it's not
possible to have perfect coverage of the area."
Somalia has essentially been without a central governing authority since 1991, and deep-sea piracy has flourished amid the
chaos. Pirates have been able to seemingly strike at will and their reach extends deep into international shipping lanes.
There have been about 40 pirate-related incidents so far this year off Somalia's coast, and pirates have raked in about
$100 million for the return of captured crews and vessels since 2008, according to experts.
In chaotic Somalia, brigands armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers have thrived.
Many poor and unemployed young Somalis see the gangs as a dazzling alternative to their hard lives, given the quick
money to be made. Most of the groups are based in villages and small towns along Somalia's long coast like Eyl, Hobyo
and Haradheere.
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Canwest News Service
