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Old Finnish minelayer with Bofors cannon nabs 18 pirates
AN ex-Finnish minelayer armed with a Bofors cannon and twin barrel heavy machine guns, caught and detained 18 suspected Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea 500 miles south of the Omani port of Salahah while serving with an EU anti-piracy flotilla.
"This morning the Pohjanmaa stopped suspected pirates in the Arabian Sea, some 500 miles southeast of Oman's Salalah," Finnish naval Commander Pasi Staff told Reuters.
The 1,450-ton displacement Pohjanmaa has been protecting shipping in waters off Somalia since February as part of an EU NAVFOR operation.
"A vessel was towing two smaller boats and when the Pohjanmaa approached it, the vessel tried to escape and warning shots were fired to stop it," said Cmdr Staff, adding the captain of Pohjanmaa suspected the group had been involved in ship hijacking.
The suspected pirates have been transferred to the "appropriate authority for prosecution," said the force, reported Bloomberg.
Hijackings in the region caused havoc for international shipping from about 2001 to 2012, peaking with 176 attacks in 2011.
While the EU's anti-piracy mission contributed to the decline, as did shipboard armed guards, a United Nations official this year warned the threat remains high after the first seizure of a commercial ship off the eastern Africa seaboard in five years.
"This morning the Pohjanmaa stopped suspected pirates in the Arabian Sea, some 500 miles southeast of Oman's Salalah," Finnish naval Commander Pasi Staff told Reuters.
The 1,450-ton displacement Pohjanmaa has been protecting shipping in waters off Somalia since February as part of an EU NAVFOR operation.
"A vessel was towing two smaller boats and when the Pohjanmaa approached it, the vessel tried to escape and warning shots were fired to stop it," said Cmdr Staff, adding the captain of Pohjanmaa suspected the group had been involved in ship hijacking.
The suspected pirates have been transferred to the "appropriate authority for prosecution," said the force, reported Bloomberg.
Hijackings in the region caused havoc for international shipping from about 2001 to 2012, peaking with 176 attacks in 2011.
While the EU's anti-piracy mission contributed to the decline, as did shipboard armed guards, a United Nations official this year warned the threat remains high after the first seizure of a commercial ship off the eastern Africa seaboard in five years.
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