GREEK NAVY CAPTURES
SOMALIAN PIRATES

The actions of the heroic 200-man crew of a Hellenic Navy frigate have thwarted a recent attempt by pirates to hijack a German oil tanker south of Yemen, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. A gang of seven Somalian pirates were held after the frigate Psara, which has been patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia for months, responded to a SOS by the FGS Spessart.

The German vessel issued the call for help after spotting an approaching speedboat full of what appeared to be Somalian pirates. According to ministry sources in Athens, Commodore Antonis Papaioannou, the commander of the European Union’s Operation Atlanta, immediately ordered the frigate to intercept the speedboat and dispatched a helicopter to monitor the operation from the air. The pirates were handed over to a German frigate serving in the EU force. Then, not resting on its laurels, the Psara thwarted yet another attempt by a different gang of Somalian pirates to hijack a Norwegian-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Somalia. The Greek vessel intervened after sailors aboard the Sigloo Tor issued a distress call. Five Somalis were subsequently detained. Following its high-seas adventures, the frigate returned to Greece, docking at the Salamina naval yard, where Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis conducted a tour.    After his inspection of the warship, Mr. Karamanlis expressed his satisfaction over the crew's efficiency and seamanship, and offered a salute as the vessel headed for another European Union mission against piracy in the sea region off Somalia.

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