Our maritime friends over at gCaptain recently spotted a vivid collection of photos detailing the November hijacking of the tanker M/V Biscaglia by Somali pirates. The images, of provenance unknown, were published in the British tabloid The Mirror. The pirates approached the Biscaglia in this high-powered skiff:
The Biscaglia was reasonably well prepared. Following a long string of pirate attacks in the waters off Somalia, the ship had been equipped with water cannon, acoustic deterrents, and a small detachment of British security guards. Here are the water cannons, hard at work:
None of these defenses proved effective, however, and the Biscaglia was quickly seized. The British security guards -- ex-military, one and all -- retreated to the roof of the ship. Outgunned and outnumbered, they eventually jumped into the sea, where they were rescued by a French navy helicopter. In breathless tabloid prose, the Mirror tells the tale:
The Biscaglia and 18 other cargo vessels at first sailed with a
French frigate for protection. But two days out of Oman, 300 miles off
the Somali coast, it fell behind. [Former British paratrooper Mike Kelly], from Dublin, said: “We noticed
a skiff about three miles off our port side – and knew it was pirates.”
The Biscaglia sent a distress signal to the frigate as the skiff circled the tanker staying well out of range of water cannons.
Mike
said: “We used our makeshift bazooka but it was wildly inaccurate and
the pirates started firing rocket-propelled grenades.”
While
two pirates stayed in the skiff, six scrambled on board, firing AK-47s
at the bridge where the three men were masterminding the defence.
[ex-Royal Marine Carl “Rocky” Mason],
from Poole, said: “They started shooting at me and I ran with them
coming after me. They were only about 18, skinny and looked high on the
local drug, called khat. They were spraying bullets everywhere.”
The men decided to use the sonic weapon, called an L-RAD.
Mike said: “We thought it would make the pirates back off, but they just laughed. It was a total waste of time.”
The
trio locked all the hatches and doors and retreated to the roof of the
bridge. Half an hour after the attack had begun, a helicopter from the
French warship appeared.
Although it was armed, it is against
maritime laws in the area to board a vessel by force after it has been
taken by pirates. So the helicopter crew were forced to hover and
photograph events from above.
LINKS:
Heroic Brit Trio Take on Somali Pirates Before Escaping into Sea (UK Mirror article)
Pirate Attack Photos (gCaptain blog post)
PREVIOUSLY:
Aaarrrr! The US Navy Battles Modern Pirates to Save North Koreans off the Coast of Africa
(Images from www.mirror.co.uk)