Garowe Online (Garowe)
22 April 2008
Security forces in Somalia's northern state of Puntland stormed a hijacked ship Tuesday, safely releasing hostages and arresting the seven pirates on board, the region's security minister said.
Abdullahi Said Samatar, the security minister in Puntland, told reporters at the port of Bossaso, the region's commercial hub, that 100 soldiers and several armored boats took part in the rescue effort.
He stated that of the seven captured pirates, three were wounded during a brief skirmish with Puntland security forces.
Mr. Samatar declined to mention any details of casualties on the Puntland government side, but port sources confidentially informed Garowe Online that two soldiers were wounded during the operation.
Yesterday, the pirates hijacked the al Khaleej, registered in the United Arab Emirates but rented by Somali businessmen. According to the Puntland security minister, the pirates had "crossed the line" when they hijacked the ship near the vital port of Bossaso.
The captured pirates were transported out of Bossaso port and are being held under heavy guard at a discreet location, informed sources said.
Mr. Samatar told journalists that the government of Puntland will charge the captured pirates in court, where they will face the death penalty.
No criminal convicted of piracy has ever been executed by the Puntland government to date.
Over the weekend, a Spanish fishing vessel with 26 crewmen on board was hijacked by suspected pirates off of the eastern coast of Somalia.
Mr. Samatar praised the French government for a rescue mission earlier this month on Somali soil, whereby 30 people were safely released by pirates after collecting a $2 million ransom payment.
The French government contends that six men captured by the French military are pirates, who will be charged in a Paris court. But local officials in Puntland argue that only two of the captured six men are actually pirates.
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Sunil Ram Media Security Consultant www.executivesecurity.ca TEL: 705.788.1957
CBC Radio: interview with a Pirate and with Sunil Ram of Executive Security Services International;
LISTEN TO PART ONE http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2008/200811/20081121.html
Pirates * Somalia * Gulf of Aden * Shipping Security --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Contact: Mr. Sunil Ram Media Security Consultant www.executivesecurity.ca
* HIGH RISK PROTECTIVE SERVICES * MARITIME SECURITY *
November 19, 2008
Canuck seamen seek security advice
By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA
TORONTO -- Canadian seamen and shipowners are looking at ways of warding off pirates in the dangerous waters along the coast of Somalia. And they're searching for answers in Huntsville, Ont.
The latest high seas seizure is a Hong Kong-registered Iranian cargo ship commandeered in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, just days after a Saudi supertanker was taken.
"I have been getting a steady stream of calls from concerned seamen," said Sunil Ram, of Executive Security Services International. "People want to know what they can do to ensure their safety," he said yesterday.
"We offer a range of services to help with their security."
Crews are advised to use high-pressure fire hoses to keep pirates from boarding vessels and to be equipped with floodlights and sirens and if necessary, armed security teams, he said.
GREASED RAILS
"The rails of the ship should be greased and electrified to prevent pirates from boarding," Ram said.
Foreign Affairs in Ottawa said its embassy in Somalia has been closed and Canadians are being told to leave the country.
"The security situation in Somalia is very volatile," a government website says.
Sylvie LaFleur, of Canada Steamship Lines, one of the Canada's largest carriers, said its ships travel through the pirate-infested waters.
"We take many precautions to ensure the safety of our crew," LaFleur said.
Pirates last month seized a Ukrainian cargo ship that had on board tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition. Food shipments to the war-torn region are also being disrupted.