World

French Warship Captures 11 Pirates

by Rachel Nixon | April 15, 2009 at 10:57 am

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A French warship has captured 11 pirates off the coast of Kenya, according to the French defence ministry.

In an early morning attack, French forces managed to thwart a raid by the pirates on a Liberian ship, the Safmarine Asia.

The French defence ministry said the warship Nivose captured the pirates about 550 miles (900km) east of the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

It had detected a "mother ship", or command vessel, on Tuesday, and observed it overnight before launching an assault early on Wednesday, the ministry said.

An attack on a Liberian-registered vessel was also thwarted, the ministry added.

The Nivose is part of the European Union's operation to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden.

News of the French attack came as pirates released a Greek cargo ship that had been held since March 19th in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Greek merchant marine ministry.

"The ship has been released and the crew are in good health," a ministry spokeswoman said.

The St Vincent-flagged Titan had a cargo of iron and was sailing from the Black Sea to South Korea when it was seized on March 19.

Three of its crew were Greek, but the spokeswoman could not confirm the nationalities of the other sailors or the ship's current location after its release overnight.