Danish forces storm ship captured by pirates and rescue 25-strong crew

Published on Friday 5 February 2010 21:23

DANISH special forces yesterday stormed a ship captured by armed Somali pirates and freed the 25 crew on board, marking the first time a warship has intervened during a hijacking in the troubled area.

• Special forces from the Danish naval vessel Absalon retook the cargo ship Ariella from Somali pirates. Picture: AFP

After the vessel Ariella sent out a distress signal early yesterday the Danish warship Absalon sent a helicopter to confirm the presence of pirates, and communicated with the crew to ensure they were in a safe location, a spokesman for the European Union Naval Force said.

Then Danish special forces aboard the Absalon approached the Ariella in inflatable dinghies. The forces scaled the side of the ship and freed the 25 crew, who had locked themselves in a secure room, the spokesman said. The forces continued to search the vessel for the pirates.

Commander Dan B Termansen, the commander of the Danish warship Absalon, told how the pirates balanced a ladder in their tiny boat and crawled up the side of the Ariella.

The first pirate crept through barbed wire the crew had stretched across the ship and fired a burst of automatic gunfire into the air.

At that point, Cmdr Termansen said, the ship's crew members locked themselves in a secure room. All are reported safe.

The Absalon, which was under Nato command, sent a helicopter to investigate.

"We saw a small boat and fired some warning shots to make it stop," said Cmdr Termansen.

In the meantime, the Ariella was plowing at top speed through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world with a cargo of 30,000 tons of steel and no one at the wheel.

Termansen sent a team from Denmark's elite Frogmen unit. They bounced across the waves in a dinghy and scaled the sides of the cargo ship using grappling hooks.

They secured the bridge, released the crew and then launched an hours-long search for the pirate the crew had seen. They found no- one.

"I don't know if he jumped overboard when he saw the helicopter or later when he saw the special forces," Cmdr Termansen said. "We searched the ship for hours and didn't find anybody."

The actions of the Danish rescuers come as a stark contrast to British efforts to save Kent couple Paul and Rachel Chandler.

British forces aborted an attempt to rescue the pair, fearing they would not be able to do so without incurring major casualties.

The Somali government yesterday urged pirates holding the British couple, kidnapped more than three months ago, to release them immediately and without preconditions.

"We urge the Somali pirates to release the old British couple unconditionally," labour minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir told a news conference in Mogadishu's presidential palace.

"We also urge the British government and all Somalis to participate in releasing the couple whatever the means. They are innocent Britons in the hands of criminals," he added.

Mr Chandler, 60, and Rachel, 56, are being held under 24-hour guard after having been kidnapped by pirates in October.