Two Early Victories in 2009 Off Somalia

2009 has begun with the Europeans finding some success fighting piracy. We start with the French, who, after responding to two distress calls from the same ship (S. Venus) grabbed eight pirates on two boats. According to the official French Navy website, the pirates had 6 AK-47s, a RPG, ammo, and some GPS equipment. The French transferred the pirates over to the authorities in Puntland.

The French navy has handed over eight suspected pirates captured in the Gulf of Aden to the authorities of Somalia's breakaway state of Puntland, an official said Friday.

"The Puntland regional government received eight pirates from the French navy, who intercepted them while they were attacking a commercial vessel," Puntland assistant minister for seaports Abdelkadir Musa Yusuf told reporters.

"They will be charged for their crimes according to criminal law. This is the second time the French navy has transferred captured pirates to Puntland," he said.

It is noteworthy the ship involved, FS Premier-Maître L'Her (F792), has only been on station about two weeks. HDMS Absalon (L16) on the other hand, has been patrolling the region for several weeks now, and had its own pirate incident.

The Absalon warship received a call for help from a Netherlands Antilles-registered cargo ship that was being attacked by five pirates in a speedboat Friday morning.

"Absalon immediately sent an armed helicopter to the area, and the helicopter fired warning shots at the pirates to get them to stop the attack," the navy said in a statement.

"The Dutch trade ship fired emergency flares at the pirate ship, which caught fire. The pirates jumped into the water and were rescued by Absalon crew members," it added.

There is no announcement regarding what Denmark plans on doing with the pirates. Score one for the French, and score one for the commercial mariners whose flare gun won the day.