Pirates attack tanker; NATO frees 20 fishermen

[April 18, 2009]  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Pirates attacked a tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, and NATO forces called to the rescue detained seven Somalis behind the assault and freed 20 Yemeni fisherman being held hostage on another hijacked boat.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Handytankers Magic issued a distress call shortly after dawn when pirates attacked it with small arms and rockets, said Portuguese Lt.-Capt. Alexandre Santos Fernandes, who is traveling with the NATO fleet patrolling the region.

A Dutch frigate from the NATO force spotted the pirates fleeing "on a small white skiff, which tried to evade and proceed toward a Yemeni-flagged fishing dhow" that had been sized by the same pirates Sunday, Fernandes said.

He said pirates were using the Yemeni vessel as a "mother ship," a boat that allows the pirates' tiny skiffs to operate far off the Somali coast.

The Dutch ship intercepted the pirate skiff and then boarded the Yemeni vessel, freeing 20 Yemen fishermen. They also seized seven of the pirates' Kalashnikov rifles and one rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Belgium, meanwhile, said a Belgian ship may have also been attacked by pirates off the east African coast. It said the ship, the Pompei, gave two warnings early Saturday morning that it was under attack on its way to the Seychelles.

Authorities have not been able to contact the ship since.

An international flotilla of ships, including ones from the United States and the European Union, has been trying to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden, a vital short cut between Europe and Asia that is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Somali pirates have attacked over 80 boats this year, and still hold 15 cargo ships and over 280 crew members hostage.

[Associated Press; By KATHARINE HOURELD and TODD PITMAN]

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