International   

Pirates fought off with water jets

ATHENS: Crewmen fired high pressure water jets to fight off heavily armed Somali pirates trying to board a Greek oil tanker in the dangerous Gulf of Aden on Friday in the fourth such attack since the start of the year, said authorities.

The pirates in three speedboats and armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades twice tried to board the Greek-flagged Kriti Episkopi but were scared off when the crew turned fire hoses on them and EU aircraft scrambled from a nearby EU naval flotilla to help, said company and Greek government officials.

The attack came a day after Somali pirates seized an Egyptian cargo ship and its 28 crew in the vast waterway, one of the world’s most important sea routes, where incidents have continued after 111 attacks in 2008.The captain of the Kriti Episkopi spotted the speedboats just before 8 a.m. GMT approaching his ship and took evasive action to try to shake them off.

He contacted the Greek authorities who alerted the EU naval flotilla which swiftly scrambled an airplane and helicopter, said the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry.

The 29 crew members were unhurt and the tanker, carrying oil from the Persian Gulf to Greece, was not damaged in the attack off the pirate-infested Somali coast, said a statement by the ship’s operating company Avin International. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Kilinochchi captured in devastating blow to LTTE
Decisive victory over savage terrorism, says Rajapaksa
Stay order defied at Nepal temple
Global protests against Gaza attacks
Food, medicine supplies becoming scarce in Gaza: aid agencies
Citigroup bosses forgo bonuses
Pirates fought off with water jets
Muslims removed from U.S. plane
Eyewitness account of a Gazan boy

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu