Brussels, December 03: The crew of a Dutch warship has arrested 13 suspected pirates following an attack by fast boats on a cargo vessel in waters south of Oman, the EU naval mission said in a statement on Thursday.
“In total there were 13 pirates and two of the original crew on board. Ladders, grappling hooks, and nine automatic weapons, one RPG (rocket propelled grenade) with three grenades and cases with ammunition were found,” it said.
“The suspected pirates have been detained.”
The arrests came after a failed attack on Wednesday by pirates in two fast boats on an Antigua and Barbuda flagged cargo ship BBC Togo, some 150 nautical miles south of Salalah, Oman.
The pirates fired automatic weapons, but failed to breach barbed wire and other undisclosed defences used by the cargo ship. No casualties were reported.
The suspects were detained by the crew of the Dutch warship Evertsen, part of the EUNAVFOR contingent operating in Indian Ocean waters.
The world’s naval powers last year deployed warships in the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to curb attacks by ransom-hunting pirates that were seen as a threat to one of the globe’s most crucial maritime trade routes.
Pirates have since shifted their focus to the wider Indian Ocean, a huge area much more difficult to patrol, and have ventured as far as the Seychelles and beyond. ]
—Agencies