Turkish warship foils pirate attack on ship off Yemen

Turkish army spokesman Metin Gurak told a weekly press briefing in Ankara that cargo vessel MV Ulusoy 8 reported it was being attacked by pirates on board two fast-moving skiffs Thursday.Â

 

He said the TCG Giresun immediately headed toward the region and sent a helicopter, foiling the attack.

 

The warship is part of the multinational task force designed to combat Somali pirates that have preyed on vessels plying the important shipping lanes in the region.

 

Three Turkish vessels were hijacked for ransom in the Gulf of Aden in 2008, with the last of them being released on Feb. 2.

 

Piracy is rife and well organized in the area where Somalia’s northeastern tip juts into the Indian Ocean, preying on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal. More than 130 ships were attacked in the area in 2008 alone.

 

The heavily armed pirates operate high-powered speedboats and sometimes hold ships for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or shipowners.

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