Danish warship Absalon captured a pirate vessel; as a result of the operation held off Somalia, 14 hostages were released and 25 suspected pirates were arrested.
Absalon was acting under NATO Operation Ocean Shield aimed at protection of civil shipping from pirate attacks . “The operation went as planned, without casualties to the crew, hostages or pirates” , said the ship’s commanding officer Carsten Fjord Larsen .
In his turn, representative of Danish military command Mikael Bill said all detained persons had been questioned. He also pointed out that released hostages were Iranian and Pakistani fishermen; however, it was not reported either when they had been captured or from what vessels.
According to RIA Novosti, two anti-piracy operations are presently conducted off Somalia. It is EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta kicked off in 2008 and NATO Operation Ocean Shield launched in 2009. Russian warships participate in anti-piracy campaign as well.
Somalia cannot cope with piracy because had ceased to exist as united state in 1991. Currently, world community recognizes Federal Government of Somalia as the only lawful authority in the country; however, the mentioned government controls only a part of a capital city, Mogadishu and some outlying regions.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, January 11, 2012;