Danish Navy rescues sixteen Pakistanis from Somali pirates

Danish Navy carries out an air-raid to rescue Pakistani hostages in custody of Somali pirates since last year.

ISLAMABAD: Sixteen Pakistanis and two Iranians were freed from Somali pirates after the Danish Navy carried out an air-raid operation to rescue the Pakistani hostages who have been in the custody of Somali pirates since last year, said a press release issued here by Danish Embassy.

On April 2, the Danish Navy’s rescue team was attacked by open fire by the pirates after which the rescue team responded through fire and conquered the ship and its crew. The team boarded the vessel off Somalia's coast targeting an Iranian fishing boat that the pirates had used as a mother-ship. The rescue operation was backed by aircraft support.

The Danish Navy Spokesperson Kenneth Nielsen confirmed that 15 Somali pirates have been arrested from the ship out of which three received injuries in the operation. All of them are being held in custody of Esbern Snare, a Danish ship that is part of NATO’s counter-piracy force. The Danish Navy also recovered arms, weapons and other equipment from their possession.

The Captain of Esbern Snare vessel has expressed great pleasure in being able to have the Pakistani crew on his ship and participate in their joy. According to him, the freed hostages have been able to call their families from the Danish ship and “are safely on their way back home”.

Kenneth Nielsen has said that no decision has been taken about what to be done with those captured. The possibility of legal prosecution is under review and the case has been handed over to the Attorney of Special International Crime.

The freed hostages have on their own request been brought back to their own ships enabling them to sail back to their domestic areas. The wounded pirates are so far being treated by doctors, Nielsen added.

Four Pakistanis were onboard an Egyptian vessel that was captured by Somali pirates last year. Another ship from Malaysia carrying five Pakistanis was hijacked by the pirates on November 26, 2010 while two more Pakistanis were among hostages of a hijacked ship belonging to the UAE on March 26, 2010. The Companies that own these ships were negotiating with pirates to release their crew members since long but the pirates showed great stance and resistance in any compromise. In March 2011, the Somali pirates sent out the threat to kill four Pakistani hostages if $20 million was not paid to them in ransom by mid March.

In the past year, the Somali pirates have been responsible for numerous kidnapping cases of official crew members from companies around the world, including families travelling on sea. Their criminal activities have become of high concern among the international community and called out for concerted, global action against piracy on the high seas.