Russian oil tanker crew freed from pirates

(News Today) - A Russian warship has freed the crew of an oil tanker seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden a day earlier, the European Union naval force said Thursday.

No one was injured in the early morning rescue operation by the Marshal Shaposhnikov.

"The Marshal Shaposhnikov was ... fired upon by the pirates holding the ship. The Russian warship ... returned fire," the naval force reported. "Eventually the pirates surrendered and a boarding team from the Marshal Shaposhnikov arrived onboard the tanker, captured all the pirates and freed the crew."

The Russian-operated tanker Moscow University, which sails under the Liberian flag, has a crew of 23. It was on its way to China when pirates hijacked it Wednesday, the naval force said.

The captured pirates could face charges of group piracy with the use of violence and weapons, an offense carrying a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison, according to Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Farther south off the coast of Tanzania, pirates failed in their attempt Wednesday to hijack a South Korean-flagged vessel, the naval force said. All those on board are reported to be well, it said.

EU NAVFOR escorts merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid in the region and protects other vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Pirate attacks are frequent in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Yemen and Somalia at the northwest corner of the Indian Ocean.

Source : CNN

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11 alleged pirates arrive in U.S. for prosecution

WASHINGTON (News Terupdate) - Eleven suspected pirates have arrived in the United States to face criminal prosecution for alleged attacks on U.S. Navy ships near Somalia, a federal government source said Friday.

U.S. authorities flew the suspects from East Africa to Norfolk, Virginia, to face prosecution in federal court, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources familiar with the operation.

The accused pirates have been indicted on a series of charges, and the suspects were expected to appear before a federal magistrate in Norfolk on Friday, the officials told CNN.

Five of the accused pirates were captured after the USS Nicholas was attacked by a pirate ship on March 31.

Six others were captured in a separate incident April 10 after a pirate ship fired on the USS Ashland.

The 11 have been charged with piracy under the law of nations, attack to plunder a vessel, assault with a dangerous weapon in the special maritime jurisdiction, conspiracy to use firearms during a crime of violence, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to court filings.

The five involved with the Nicholas incident were identified as Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali, Abdi Wali Dire, Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher, and Abdi Mohammed Umar.

Read indictment in USS Nicholas case

The six involved with the Ashland were identified as Maxamad Cali Saciid, also know as Mohammed Said, Mohammed Abdi Jama, Jaamac Ciidle, Abdicasiis Cabaase, Abdirasaq Abshir, and Mahamed Farraah Hassan.

Read indictment in USS Ashland case

"The U.S. Marshals Service will be taking custody of the defendants following their initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, and they will be housed locally through the court proceedings," the Marshals Service said in a written statement. The service refused any other comment on the operation to bring the pirates to U.S. soil.

The FBI and Justice Department had no comment.

The cases will be prosecuted in Norfolk, which is in the Eastern District of Virginia. Some officials from Alexandria, where the district court is based, were already in Norfolk standing by for the pirates' arrival, officials said.

The United States, the European Union and others have beefed up their security presence in waters near Somalia after a rash of attacks by pirates in the past two years.

Source : CNN

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