Dutch Navy Releases Video of Pirate Capture!

[Thagarr]

[imgleft]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_cQOyQjTP3GY/SzdzfGWk3nI/AAAAAAAAAIg/CePEMJs6IBk/real-pirates.gif[/imgleft]The Dutch Navy has released a dramatic video of the successful rescue of the German flagged cargo ship Taipan, that had been hijacked by Somali pirates earlier this year. The video was apparently shot on April 5'th from the helmet cam of a Dutch Marine as the force boarded the hijacked vessel from a helicopter only 4 hours after the Taipan issued a distress call. The marines were from the Dutch Frigate Tromp, the ship and her crew have cropped up several times in my Pirate News thread! A Dutch soldier was slightly wounded in the operation during which the troops exchanged gunfire with the pirates who had come aboard with the help of a mothership and two attack boats. The Dutch Marines took 10 pirates into custody, and the 15 members of the Taipan's crew emerged safe and sound, and she continued on her way after the indecent. According to a statement issued by a defense ministry spokesman, the Dutch have yet to decide what to do with the 10 Somali pirates ...I have a few ideas!

Dutch Navy Releases Video of Storming of Ship Taken by Pirates

Military officials said Tuesday a Dutch frigate sidestepped the European Union's antipiracy task force to free a German cargo ship from Somali pirates. New video released shows the daring rescue.

The Dutch navy released a video Friday of its recent storming of a German ship and the capture of a band of pirates on board.

The ship, the MS Taipan, was rescued April 5 by the Dutch, and 10 pirates were arrested and jailed in the Netherlands.

The gripping video shows the operation from the point of view of one of the military men. Dutch naval captain Col. Hans Lodder has said that, after ascertaining that the Taipan's crew was safe, he launched his ship's Lynx helicopter with a team of six special-forces marines. With troops providing covering fire from the helicopter, the marines landed onto the ship's deck of the MV Taipan, meeting no resistance from the pirates.

"The pirates surrendered the moment they saw the marines," Col. Lodder told the Associated Press.

Military officials have said the Dutch frigate sidestepped the European Union's antipiracy task force to free the German cargo ship from Somali pirates.

It was the first time a Dutch ship involved in the EU mission had used force to recapture a hijacked ship. An EU spokesman couldn't immediately recall any incident when troops under EU command had boarded a seized ship under the threat of fire.

Col. Lodder said he decided to seek permission from his own command for an "opposed boarding"—one in which pirates may resist—rather than act under procedures laid down by Brussels.

"We just told my force commander we would operate under national command until after the boarding," he added. "We kept everyone in the EU informed of everything we did."

Cmdr. John Harbour, U.K.-based spokesman for the European Union Naval Force Somalia said the Dutch action avoided a delay and was legitimate. "For speed of reaction, if you're on the spot ... [and] dispatched at haste to react to something immediately, the best thing to do is to go under national command," he said.

Original story here:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/0...u-rescue-german-ship-pirates/?test=latestnews

And thanks to dennis5294 for posting the video on YouTube!

 

[Thagarr]

I just happened to run across this and thought I would post it. just to make this story complete. The German Navy released a new video a couple of days ago showing the actual capture of the MV Taipan.

Thankfully, the pirate threat in Somalia has greatly decreased over the past two years, Nigeria still remains a trouble spot though. If you would like to see an accurate depiction of a complete hijacking and rescue, I highly recomend the movie Captain Phillips staring Tom Hanks. It's an excellent movie and should have been an academy award winner.