02 January 2009

Incident: Cargo vessel chased

A cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden, not otherwise identified, is chased by men in two speedboats armed with rifles and rocket propelled grenades.
The ship immediately contacted the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre for help. Duty officer at the, 24 hour manned, IMB Piracy Reporting Centre advised master to take evasive manoeuvres to delay and prevent boarding and then immediately contacted coalition naval forces for help. Two warships were dispatched. Meanwhile ship’s crew used various preventive measures and prevented boarding.
Pirates aborted the attack. (ICC/IMB Website)

This may be the Panama-flagged cargo ship S Venus which underwent two attacks on this day. The French frigate Premier-MaƮtre L'Her "scared off the pirates, but several hours later they tried again to approach the ship. That time, the French frigate captured and boarded the boat. French forces then arrested eight men." (Wikipedia, "List of ships attacked by Somali pirates," 12/31/09)