The Russian destroyer Admiral Panteleyev
A Russian warship captured a suspected pirate vessel with 29 people on board off the coast of Somalia, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday, citing defense ministry sources.
Russia’s Admiral Panteleyev anti-submarine ship seized the vessel 15 miles off the coast of Somalia at 1212 GMT on Tuesday, the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.
“Seven Kalashnikov rifles, various pistols and an aluminum ladder were discovered during a search of the ship,” RIA Novosti quoted the source as saying. Satellite navigation equipment and a large amount of ammunition was also seized.
“This allows us to assume that this group of pirates undertook two unsuccessful attempts to seize the TF Commander tanker with a Russian crew that was traveling through this region yesterday,” RIA quoted the source as saying.
Russia is among several naval powers with warships in the area to protect one of the world’s busiest sea lanes from spate of hijackings by Somali pirates.
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Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042802771.html
Photo: http://www.warshipsifr.com/iraq_war_special.html
http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=6866
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See also:
Russians Hose Down Somali Pirates
The NS Commander
he crew of a Russian oil tanker managed to repel a pirate attack in the waters off Somalia, the company said Tuesday, apparently by hosing them down with water.
Three small pirate vessels attacked the Aframax class NS Commander, owned by Novorossiisk Shipping Company, and its crew of 23 Russians on Monday afternoon in the Gulf of Aden. The would-be hijackers, armed with automatic weapons and grenade launchers, opened fire on the vessel but were outmaneuvered, the statement said.
Online shipping portal Maritime Bulletin reported that the sailors repelled the attack with the tanker’s fire hoses. The company said only that the crew managed to fend off two attempts by the pirates to approach.
“The captain quickly notified the coalition of naval forces in the region of the attack. Direct communication was opened with Russian naval ship the Admiral Panteyev, which was 120 miles from the site of the incident,” the statement said.
No one onboard was injured.
The Liberian-flagged ship and its cargo of 83,000 tons of mazut fuel oil are continuing to Singapore, the statement said. An initial inspection of the tanker found no damage.
The attack highlights the problems facing shippers in the key Gulf of Aden shipping route, which has been plagued in recent months by attacks from increasingly dangerous and well-equipped Somali pirates.
Pirates are holding at least six Russian citizens hostage, Prime-Tass reported earlier this month, citing sources in Kenya and Russia.
In February, hijackers released the Ukrainian ship MV Faina, along with its crew and cargo of 33 tanks, for ransom after holding it for five months. The ship’s captain died of a suspected heart attack shortly after the seizure.
The Navy has joined other military powers in stepping up patrols in the region. Four Russian ships, including the Admiral Panteyev, were recently deployed to the waters off Somalia, each with a military team trained in anti-piracy tactics, Itar-Tass reported.
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Full article and photo: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/376679.htm
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Russia vows to continue anti-piracy mission off Somali coast
Russian warships will continue patrolling pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the area, Russia’s defense minister said on Wednesday.
“The Russian Navy will continue patrols in the Gulf of Aden. A new convoy of commercial ships is being formed in the area, and our warships will escort it,” Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters in Moscow.
The minister also confirmed the detention of a pirate vessel off the Somali coast by a Russian warship.
The Admiral Panteleyev missile destroyer, which joined anti-paracy operations in the Gulf of Aden on April 27, detained a boat carrying 29 suspected pirates off the Somali coast at about 6 p.m. Moscow time (14:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
The Defense Ministry said a Ka-27 helicopter from the Admiral Panteleyev fired warning shots after the pirate boat refused to stop and surrender.
A search of the detained vessel turned up seven Kalashnikov assault rifles and several handguns, as well as portable navigation equipment, fuel canisters and a large number of spent cartridges.
“According to preliminary information, there were Somali pirates and Iranian and Pakistani fishermen on board the boat. We will decide soon what to do with them,” Serdyukov said.
A senior Russian navy official said earlier on Wednesday the navy was holding talks with littoral states along the Gulf of Aden as it looked to hand over the pirates.
“We are holding talks with foreign officials on the pirates,” the official said. “We plan to hand them over to a regional country soon for investigation.”
The Admiral Panteleyev is an Udaloy-class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters.
The warship replaced another Russian destroyer, the Admiral Vinogradov, which joined the anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia at the beginning of January.
During its mission, which ended in mid-March, the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer escorted 12 convoys comprising a total of 54 ships from 17 countries, and thwarted several pirate attacks on various vessels.
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Full article: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090429/121369818.html
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See also:
Russian destroyer detains Somali pirates
Russia’s Admiral Panteleyev missile destroyer has detained a boat carrying 29 suspected pirates off the Somali coast, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
A new task force from Russia’s Pacific Fleet led by the destroyer joined anti-piracy operations on Monday off the Horn of Africa.
“A search of the detained vessel resulted in the discovery of seven Kalashnikov assault rifles, several handguns, portable navigation equipment, fuel canisters, and a large number of spent cartridges,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This leads us to believe that these pirates could have been involved in two unsuccessful attacks on a Liberian-flagged tanker with a Russian crew on board, which passed through this area on Tuesday with a shipment of oil en route to Singapore. The total number of people detained is 29,” the statement said.
The Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht reported on Tuesday that the NS Commander tanker, partly owned by Russia’s Novoship company, had been attacked by Somali pirates on Monday about 120 miles east of the Yemeni island of Sokotra.
The 23-men crew successfully repelled the attempted hijack and the ship continued on its way to its destination.
At the time of the attack, the tanker was about 130 miles from the Admiral Panteleyev, which is an Udaloy-class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters.
A senior Russian navy official said later on Wednesday the navy was holding talks with littoral states along the Gulf of Aden as it looked to hand over the pirates.
“We are holding talks with foreign officials on the pirates,” the official said. “We plan to hand them over to a regional country soon for investigation.”
Around 20 warships from the navies of at least a dozen countries are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in combined ransom payouts of around $150 million.
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Full article: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090429/121363632.html
Dear Jack:
Thank you for your question. The main article would have been helped by a clearer title. The term used, namely “seized”, is technically correct with respect to vessels, but cryptic when applied to persons. Personally, I would have used the term “captured” or “boarded” pirate boats or arrested or detained pirate suspects in this context.
I have some professional familiarity with the Law of the Sea Convention and I thought that the following background information might be useful.
“The Defense Ministry said a Ka-27 helicopter from the Admiral Panteleyev fired warning shots after the pirate boat refused to stop and surrender.
A search of the detained vessel turned up seven Kalashnikov assault rifles and several handguns, as well as portable navigation equipment, fuel canisters and a large number of spent cartridges.
“According to preliminary information, there were Somali pirates and Iranian and Pakistani fishermen on board the boat. We will decide soon what to do with them,” Serdyukov said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090429/121369818.html (see the third article above)
The pirate boat was ’seized’ by the Russian destroyer.
Here are the relevant provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention, which fully reflect the customary international law on this point, See particularly, article 105.
ARTICLE 101
DEFINITION OF PIRACY
Piracy consists of any of the following acts:
(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed:
(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft;
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State;
(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft;
(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b).
ARTICLE 102
PIRACY BY A WARSHIP, GOVERNMENT SHIP OR GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT WHOSE CREW HAS MUTINIED
The acts of piracy, as defined in article 101, committed by a warship, government ship or government aircraft whose crew has mutinied and taken control of the ship or aircraft are assimilated to acts committed by a private ship or aircraft.
ARTICLE 103
DEFINITION OF A PIRATE SHIP OR AIRCRAFT
A ship or aircraft is considered a pirate ship or aircraft if it is intended by the persons in dominant control to be used for the purpose of committing one of the acts referred to in article 101. The same applies if the ship or aircraft has been used to commit any such act, so long as it remains under the control of the persons guilty of that act.
ARTICLE 104
RETENTION OR LOSS OF THE NATIONALITY OF A PIRATE SHIP OR AIRCRAFT
A ship or aircraft may retain its nationality although it has become a pirate ship or aircraft. The retention or loss of nationality is determined by the law of the State from which such nationality was derived.
ARTICLE 105
SEIZURE OF A PIRATE SHIP OR AIRCRAFT
On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board. The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith.
ARTICLE 106
LIABILITY FOR SEIZURE WITHOUT ADEQUATE GROUNDS
Where the seizure of a ship or aircraft on suspicion of piracy has been effected without adequate grounds, the State making the seizure shall be liable to the State the nationality of which is possessed by the ship or aircraft for any loss or damage caused by the seizure.
ARTICLE 107
SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT WHICH ARE ENTITLED TO SEIZE ON ACCOUNT OF PIRACY
A seizure on account of piracy may be carried out only by warships or military aircraft, or other ships or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as being on government service and authorized to that effect.
http://www.globelaw.com/LawSea/lsconts.htm
André Bluteau
Question, did the Russians actually capture a pirate vessel or only board the pirate vessel? The ramifications of capture or board are quite large. In any event, congrats to the Russians for their tracking and persistence with this pirate vessel. It certainly does not appear that much “fishing” was contemplated unless of course the aluminum ladder was lowered into the water and the Kalashnikov rifles plus the pistols were used to kill the fish. I indeed hope that this vermin on the high seas is treated as just that – vermin to be either exterminated or prosecuted.