April 16, 2009
The frigate Nivose chased the pirates 930km east of the Kenyan coast after tracking them from the scene of a failed attack on a Liberian-registered vessel.
"The pirates were sailing a 10-metre mother ship carrying 17 drums holding 200 litres of fuel each and two assault skiffs," a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
The captives were being held on board the Nivose.
The day before pirates attacked an American freighter with rocket fire and machine guns in revenge for the killing of
their comrades in the operation that freed US captain Richard Phillips.
The Liberty Sun escaped the attack even as other vessels fell into the clutches of marauding Somali bandits.
Pirate commander Abdi Garad said last night the attack late on Tuesday was the first against "our prime target".
"We intended to destroy this American-flagged ship and the crew on board, but unfortunately they narrowly escaped us," hesaid.
"The aim of this attack was totally different. We were not after a ransom. We also assigned a team with special equipment to chase and destroy any ship flying the American flag in retaliation for the brutal killing of our friends."
Captain Phillips was saved when navy snipers killed three pirates to end the high-seas drama on Monday.
Pirates have taken four ships since losing two battles with US and French forces at the weekend. The Liberty Sun, heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa with food aid, was their latest target.
USS Bainbridge, which mounted the operation to rescue Captain Phillips, whose freighter Maersk Alabama was also carrying food aid to Africa when hijacked last Wednesday, came to the rescue of the Liberty Sun.
Crew members gave a dramatic account of the attack.
"We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets," crewman Thomas Urbik told his mother in email messages, CNN reported.
"We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. A rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out."
Mr Urbik said the US Navy escorted the ship to safety. "The navy has showed up. We are now under military escort."
US President Barack Obama has pledged to curb piracy, but since the rescue of Captain Phillips and some French hostages in separate military missions, the bandits have taken four vessels.
The MV Irena, a 35,000-tonne Greek-operated ship, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Its 22 Filipino crew are believed to be safe. A second Lebanese-owned freighter, the Sea Horse, was seized off the Horn of Africa.
Source: The Australian
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