Danish navy rescues crew of pirated cargo ship

A boarding party from a Royal Danish Navy warship assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1) rescued the crew of a bulk cargo vessel on 5 February after it was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

The combat support ship HDMS Absalon deployed personnel from its mine clearance and boarding teams to re-take MV Ariella after senior commanders confirmed that the crew of the latter were ensconced in a 'safe room' below decks.

Although the pirates fled as the Danish team arrived, it is believed to be the first time during the current multinational maritime security effort off Somalia that armed naval intervention has been authorised against pirates who are in possession of a hijacked vessel.

As well as the SNMG 1 flagship, other units involved in Ariella 's recapture included Indian and Russian frigates and a French maritime patrol aircraft under the command of EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia.

Twenty-five seamen were on board the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo vessel, owned by Splosna Plovba International Shipping and Chartering Ltd of Slovenia, when it was approached by two skiffs manned by pirates armed with AK-47 assault rifles. The ship was sailing in 'group transit' inside the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, under the protection of coalition navies, when the attack happened.

As the pirates attempted to take control of the ship, a mayday call from its master was received by the Indian Navy Talwar-class frigate INS Tabar which, according to EU NAVFOR, broadcast a general alert on the Mercury communications system.