French warship detains 22 suspected somali pirate, EU Naval Force vow over Somali pirates‎ -Somali pirates, security personnel in 3 shootouts‎

,The crew of a French warship captured 22 suspected Somali pirates, European Union naval forces and the French Defence Ministry said Friday. EU NAVFOR Somalia, the EU's anti-piracy mission in the region, said the FS Nivose had been sent after a pirate attack group - two speedboats and a larger vessel - that had earlier mounted a failed attempted to hijack a French research vessel. "On arrival at the scene they found 11 suspected pirates and pirate paraphernalia in the skiffs including a rocket launcher, grappling hooks and several fuel barrels," EU NAVFOR said in a statement. "The mother ship and one skiff have been destroyed and the suspected pirates taken into custody."Later Friday, the Nivose crew captured 11 more suspected pirates in a second operation. The captures occurred near the midpoint between the Seychelles and the East African coast. Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991, and piracy is rife off the Horn of Africa nation. Young men take to the seas despite the presence of international warships, which were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden in 2008 to combat a rise in piracy. Attacks are expected to rise in the coming months due to calmer weather, and already this week there has been a spike in activity. On Monday, Saudi tanker al-Nisr al-Saudi and its crew of 14 was hijacked.

Private security guards aboard a Spanish ship on Thursday repelled a pirate attack, during which the vessel was hit by a rocket- propelled grenade. None of the crew of the Cadiz-registered Albacan were injured in the attack. Ship owners have turned to private guards, barbed wire and water cannons to fend off the pirates who prowl sometimes far beyond Somalia's coastal waters looking for multimillion-dollar ransoms. Six ships and more than hostage crew members are currently in pirate hands. Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:56:06 GM
Military vow over Somali pirates‎ -
Somali pirates, security personnel in 3 shootouts‎ -