Pirate Shot Dead

A suspected pirate has been shot dead as private guards repelled an attack on a cargo ship off Somalia.

The EU naval force (Navfor) says the suspect was found dead by a team from an EU warship which was responding to a distress call from the cargo ship.

Guards aboard the Panamanian-flagged MV Almezaan had returned fire after the ship was attacked, it added. Six other suspected pirates were detained by a Spanish Naval vessel. 

A Navfor spokesman stated  “All the evidence suggests that there was a fire-fight ” 

The ESPS Navarra found one pirate mother ship and two skiffs. The mother ship was destroyed after the suspects were taken into custody.

Navfor spokesman Cmdr John Harbour has stated, that he believed there was strong evidence to prosecute the six suspects detained.

"All the evidence suggests that there was a fire-fight," bullet-holes were found in the skiffs in which they were found, he added.

The owners of the cargo ship, which was en route to Mogadishu, were contacted and asked to comply with any subsequent prosecution.

The waters off Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world for shipping, despite patrols from Navfor and other foreign naval forces.

The Navarra received a distress signal early on Tuesday from a merchant ship off the Somali coast and sped to the area.

Pirates had launched an attack on the MV Almezaan. This was successfully repelled by members of an "vessel protection unit" on board the ship, who returned fire. A second attack was also repelled and the pirates fled the area.

A helicopter from the Navarra sighted the suspected pirates' boats and ordered them to stop, firing warning shots when they refused to do so.

When a team from the Navarra boarded the vessels, they found three suspected pirates in one skiff and three in the second, along with the body of a fourth man. The body was transferred to the Navarra and an investigation indicated that the individual had died from small-calibre gunshot wounds.

A number of suspected Somali pirates have been killed by international forces during rescue operations but this is thought to be the first time private security guards have killed a pirate in defence of a ship.

It should be remembered that merchant vessels do have a right to protect themselves if attacked on the high seas.