MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES THWART SOMALI PIRATE ATTACK

An attempted attack by Somali pirates on a merchant vessel plying the Gulf of Aden on 4 Apr was foiled, thanks to the coordinated efforts of multi-national anti-piracy forces.

A Danish flagged tanker, MV Torm Ragnhild, alerted maritime organisations through radio calls and a distress email after pirates in two skiffs fired rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at it along the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).

As the IRTC coordinator, the Singapore-led Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151), which did not have any assets in the vicinity of the attack, promptly coordinated with other Task Forces in the vicinity to assist the troubled ship.

First to arrive at the scene of the attack was a French Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPRA), whose presence led the pirates on two skiffs to break their trail of MV Torm Ragnhild. A Japanese MPRA, which arrived shortly after, reported spotting a mothership in the vicinity, later identified to be a pirated Indian-flagged dhow named "Safina Al Gayatri". CTF 151 and CTF 508 also reported the pirated Indian dhow to the Indian Navy.

Also responding to the attack was Turkish warship, TCG Gelibolu, from CTF 508. As it was patrolling other sectors in the Gulf of Aden, CTF 151 arranged for Pakistani ship, PNS Khaibar, under CTF 151 in the nearby patrol sectors, and Chinese Navy ships conducting a convoy transit through the area, to watch over the sectors vacated by TCG Gelibolu. Italian ship, ITS Etna, and PNS Khaibar were also informed to stand by their helicopters to assist TCG Gelibolu when necessary.

When TCG Gelibolu arrived on scene, the attack skiffs had already been recovered on the mothership and were escaping. TCG Gelibolu continued to shadow the pirated dhow through the night to the Somali coast, where the pirates decided to leave and flee the dhow.

Praising the concerted efforts by the multi-national forces in deterring the pirates, Commander CTF 151 Rear Admiral (RADM) Bernard Miranda, from the Republic of Singapore Navy, said: "From the minute the distress call was sent out, a response plan was quickly coordinated among all the warships and aircraft in the area. And everything went like clockwork. The operation was professionally executed, and another piracy was successfully prevented today."

He added: "The Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin is a huge area, and warships and aircraft cannot patrol every part of the seas here. Therefore, close coordination and co-operation is extremely critical to optimise the counter-piracy resources in the area of operations.

"Merchant ships plying this area have to play their roles, too, to deter the pirates. The actions that MV Torm Ragnhild took today when they were attacked were outstanding."

The Master of MV Torm Ragnhild, Captain Soeren Elbek, commented in an email statement that his crew had executed "best management practices" to deter pirate attacks. He said: "Despite a pretty shocking experience, I can only praise my crew for an excellent job."

CTF 151 is a multi-national task force established in January 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. The IRTC coordinator since 16 Feb this year, the Task Force handed over this role to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) CTF 508 on 4 Apr.