SINGAPORE-LED FLAGSHIP STOPS SOMALI PIRATE ATTACK

Swift action by the USS Farragut, the flagship of the Singapore-led Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151), foiled a pirate attack on a merchant vessel in the dead of the night on 15 Apr.

A Thailand-flagged bulk carrier, MV Thor Traveller, was attacked about 240km east of Aden by a skiff with seven suspected pirates on board. The suspected pirates had attempted to force the vessel to stop by firing rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. The shooting continued for 10 minutes, while Captain (CAPT) Nakrob Ngoenmuen, the Master of MV Thor Traveller, desperately radioed for help.

Upon receiving the call for help, the USS Farragut, which was in the vicinity of the attack, swung into action and closed in at maximum speed to assist the troubled ship. When the CTF 151 flagship located the skiff, the attack had stopped and the suspected pirates were trying to flee.

Spotlights and smoke floats were used by a helicopter from the USS Farragut to warn the skiff to stop, and a boarding team subsequently intercepted and boarded it.

The suspected pirates had been spotted earlier throwing various incriminating items such as ladders overboard, but the boarding team found a single round of rifle bullet, a grappling hook and 20 fuel containers on the skiff.

To prevent the suspected pirates from conducting any more attacks, the boarding team confiscated one of the two outboard engines, and left only enough fuel for the skiff to return to the Somali coast.

Said CAPT Ngoenmuen: "I am impressed by the quick response, and I really appreciate USS Farragut's kind assistance to help my ship in the piracy attack."

Noting that the attack had occurred at 3am on a moonless night, Commander CTF 151 Rear-Admiral (RADM) Bernard Miranda of the Republic of Singapore Navy said: "It simply shows that the pirates do not take an off day, and they are always looking out for opportunities to attack."

He added: "The quick response from USS Farragut today is testament to our operational readiness. And the alert lookouts and prompt reporting from MV Thor Traveller also contributed to the successful disruption."RADM Miranda, who was placed in charge of CTF 151 in mid-January this year, will be handing over command of the multinational anti-piracy task force to the Republic of Korea Navy on 21 Apr. Commenting on the effectiveness of the task force in policing the region's pirate-infested waters, he said: "The coalition has made good progress in the counter-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin so far. The attacks have increased recently, but the overall rate of success has dropped. This is mainly due to intervention by coalition warships like what we witnessed yesterday in the attack against MV Thor Traveller."And I am sure after I hand over command to the Republic of Korean Navy in five days' time, they will continue to achieve even greater success in their fight against piracy."CTF 151 is a multinational task force set up in January 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia. The Singapore Armed Forces had previously deployed a Landing Ship Tank with two Super Puma helicopters embarked in support of these international anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden in mid-2009.