Pirates zero in on the MSC
Namibia II.
Patcharapol Panrak
Two Sattahip-based naval vessels on an anti-piracy
mission off Somalia rescued a Thai cargo ship from being hijacked in the
Gulf of Aden.
Crews of the HTMS Similan and HTMS Narathiwat were
contacted Aug. 21 by the M.V. Thor Harmony, a 194-meter bulk carrier
operated by Bangkok’s Thoresen & Co., after crew members had witnessed
Somali pirates attacking a nearby oil tanker. Navy personnel advised the
Thai-flag freighter to flee the area and met the ship to escort it and its
cargo of dried goods to Jordan.
Thai forces chase off the
pirates, allowing free passage for the MSC Namibia II.
The save was just one of two wins for the Thai task force
last month. Two days later the Similan thwarted the attempted hijacking of
the MSC Namibia II 70 miles off the Yemeni coast. The Thai ship sent a Bell
helicopter with six crew aboard to the Liberian cargo ship, which was under
attack with rocket-propelled grenades.
Pirates broke off the attack and escaped on a skiff. The
tanker and pursuit of the skiff were turned over to a U.S. Navy vessel.
The two navy ships are on Thailand’s second mission to the Gulf of Aden
as part of an international anti-piracy task force. The vessels left
Sattahip July 12 and are scheduled to return Nov. 28.
