According to the skipper of the Alakrana, they could avoid the attack thanks to bad weather conditions and the fact that the crew had already picked up the nets. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.
Friday, September 04, 2009
A vessel from Bermeo, a fishing town in the coast of Biscay, Basque Country, managed to avoid an attack of Somali pirates when it was 495 miles off the coast of Somalia. As the skipper of the ship Alakrana said, they could escape thanks to bad weather conditions and the fact that the crew had already picked up the nets.
The incident occurred about one o'clock in the afternoon, Spanish time, when the ship was in position-5453 North 0450 East.
The fact that the Somali ship was only ten metres long made it impossible for the radar system to locate it. The crew noticed that the pirates were trying to reach them just when the attacker ship was very close to the Bermeos Alakrana, on the first seven miles.
In order to verify that they could be under attack, the Basque vessel made several moves which were imitated by chasers, so the skipper finally decided to accelerate and escape. They could avoid the attack thanks to bad weather conditions, otherwise, it would have been impossible to evade it.
Although the Spanish ships "appreciate" the presence of the Spanish frigate Canaries, they consider that a plane should fly over Somali waters more frequently. In addition, they suggest that the government should also follow Frances protocol for security, given that every French-flagged vessel counts on 4 armed military men.
Source: Eitb, Sept 04, 2009