mali pirates nabbed, released by Canadian frigate,U.S. chase of Somali pirate assets faces rough seas

ON BOARD NRB CORTE-REAL — The Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg helped foil an attack by Somali pirates on a Norwegian oil tanker, and briefly detained seven gunmen after hunting them down under cover of darkness, NATO officials said Sunday.It was the latest assault by sea gangs from Somalia who have hijacked dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors hostage and made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms — defying an unprecedented deployment by foreign navies in the region.The violence has disrupted aid supplies, driven up insurance costs and forced some firms to route cargo thousands of kilometres south around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa.Sub-Lieutenant Michael McWhinnie, a spokesman onboard Winnipeg, said it, a British naval supply ship and U.S. warship Halyburton all responded after pirates attacked the80,000-tonne MV Front Ardenne in the Gulf of Aden late Saturday.The gunmen, who were armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, fled south in their skiff as the NATO forces approached, dumping most of their weapons overboard.McWhinnie told Reuters a helicopter dispatched by the Winnipeg fired several warning rounds in front of the pirates’ small craft from its machine gun, but they ignored it...more..http://www.vancouversun.com/Somali+pirates+nabbed+released+Canadian+frigate/1512697/story.html
U.S. chase of Somali pirate assets faces rough seas
http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE53K36H20090421