Marines Storm Ship Seized by Pirates, Rescue Crew

U.S. Marines stormed a German-owned ship seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and rescued the crew, the first time an international taskforce set up in 2002 has recaptured a hijacked vessel.

Nine pirates were arrested and none of the crew of the Magellan Star or the 24 Marines were hurt, the U.S. Navy said in a statement on its website today. The raid took place about 85 miles southeast of Mukallah, Yemen, according to Jeremy Olver, a Bahrain-based spokesman for the Combined Maritime Forces, which includes about three dozen ships from at least 10 countries.

About 20 percent of world trade passes through the Gulf of Aden, a transit point for navigating Egypt’s Suez Canal when sailing between Asia and Europe, according to the European Union. The Magellan Star sent a distress call early yesterday and a Turkish frigate attached to the forces was first on the scene, the U.S. Navy said. Two other warships arrived later.

The Marines are from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force aboard USS Dubuque. The operation was the first recapturing of a ship by the combined forces, Olver said.

The Magellan Star, a 133-meter (436-foot) general-cargo ship, was sailing to Vung Tau in Vietnam from Europe, according to AISlive Ltd. ship-tracking data on Bloomberg.

Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and around Somalia fell to 98 in the first half of 2010 from 144 a year earlier as navies strengthened operations in the area, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

Somalia Attacks

Pirate attacks around Somalia rose to a record in 2009, prompting international forces to boost patrols of the region.

Somalia hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Most of southern and central Somalia is under the control of rebel fighters, while the Western-backed government holds only portions of Mogadishu. Surrounding waters are the most pirated in the world, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Earlier, the European Union Naval Force, said the Panega, a Bulgarian-flagged chemical tanker captured by pirates in May, was released today. The ship is crewed by 15 Bulgarians, who are reported to be in good health, the EU Navfor said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alaric Nightingale in London at anightingal1@bloomberg.net

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