Saturday, May 22, 2010
Naval force spokesman John Harbour said the assault against the FS Nivose immediately stopped and none of the two merchant vessels, which she were tasked to escort, were hit.
Harbour said the EU Naval Force warship FS Nivose were approaching Mogadishu, to start an escort of MS Alpha Kirawira and Petra 1, that just unloaded supply for the African Union forces in Somalia (AMISOM). "Since gunfire was heard from the town, the commanding officer (CO) and the crew on Nivose was extra cautious this morning (Friday)," Harbour said.
He said when Nivose is one nautical mile outside of Mogadishu and protecting the port the crew realize that they are shot at, from the shore outside the port.
"Impacts from small arms are observed in the water just 10 meters from the starboard side of the ship. Immediately the CO orders a response with a heavy machine gun from Nivose," Harbour said
According to Harbour, after firing warning shots in the direction the fire was estimated to have come from, the assault ended.
"A detailed investigation of the hull later confirmed that the ship was untouched. None of the two merchant vessels were targets of the Somalia shootings," he said.
He said Nivose then proceeded with her duty and safely escorted the two merchant ships down to Mombasa.
Pirates can make huge sums of money by capturing a vessel and demanding ransom. The high-seas hijackings have persisted despite an international armada of warships deployed by the United States, the European Union, NATO, Japan, South Korea and China to patrol the region.
The Horn of Africa nation has been without an effective government since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness which has allowed the pirates to thrive.
Efforts to stop the raiders have so far had only limited success, with international naval patrols struggling to cover the vast areas of ocean where the gangs operate.
To date more than 120 suspects have been transferred to Kenya by the Western warships patrolling the Indian Ocean to combat piracy.
Source: Xinhua