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Somalia Piracy Crisis

Spain Sends Frigate to Gulf of Aden

Spain has sent a frigate to the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to free the crew of a Basque tuna boat commandeered off the coast of Somalia. The pirates are reported to be demanding a €1 million ransom.

DPA

The Somali pirates who seized the tuna boat Playa de Bakio are still demanding a ransom.

The Mendez Nunez, which has now arrived in the area where the trawler was seized, has a crew of around 200 men, including a special forces unit. However the Spanish government has said that a military operation would be a last resort and would prefer a negotiated settlement to the crisis.

According to unconfirmed press reports Friday, the owners of the boat are in contact with the pirates, who are reported to be demanding a ransom of up to €1 million ($1.56 million).

Pirates boarded the Spanish tuna boat Playa de Bakio last Sunday off Somalia. On Thursday evening they landed for supplies at the Somali port of Haradere, then headed for deep waters after local residents threatened them, according to witnesses.

"Maybe they got rumors that Islamic fighters in the region were preparing to attack," said a village elder, according to the news agency AFP.

The crew of 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans is being held by a band of pirates armed with grenade launchers.

Spain's ambassador to Kenya, Nicolas Martin Cinto, travelled to the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday to discuss the crisis with Somalia's prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein.

A UN Solution?

French and American diplomats on Tuesday announced a United Nations Security Council draft resolution to deal with just this sort of problem. "We are working on a text to combat piracy," said France's ambassador to the UN, Jean-Maurice Ripert.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos voiced support on Wednesday for the draft resolution. "I think the international community must react," said Moratinos on Spanish public TV. He called for the international community "to establish a rotational checking and monitoring mechanism with our naval forces, in order to guarantee the security and protection of all those who work and pass through that area."

Somalia is a particular focus of attention because its government has no navy and can't control its waters. The resolution would let member countries chase and arrest pirates when they flee to territorial waters where law enforcement is weak or nonexistent.

Earlier in April, a French luxury yacht was held for a week by pirates off the Somali coast. And last Monday a Japanese tanker spilled hundreds of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Aden after Somali pirates fired on it, apparently with rocket-propelled grenades.

The International Maritime Bureau says piracy is on the rise. There have been 49 attacks on ships around the world between January and March -- up 20 percent from the same period last year.

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