Medeshi Sept 16, 2008
Sarkozy Seeks Global Piracy Effort After Somalia Raid (Update2)
By Gregory Viscusi
President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a global effort to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden after French naval commandos freed a couple held by Somali pirates.
One pirate was killed and six taken prisoner in the 10- minute raid by 30 naval commandos yesterday, Sarkozy said. It was the second French attack this year on Somali pirates.
``This is a warning to all those that take part in these criminal acts,'' Sarkozy said at a press conference in Paris today. ``I hope France is not the only country that assumes its responsibilities. I call for the mobilization of the international community. Crime must not pay.''
Sarkozy said he'll seek a debate at the United Nations Security Council on fighting piracy, as well as push for greater naval cooperation among the 27 members of the European Union. A Hong Kong chemical tanker with 22 crew was seized in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, Sarkozy said.
`` I decided to act to show our determination against piracy,'' Sarkozy said. ``The pirates now know they run risks. The world can't stay passive or indifferent. I ask other countries to act, as France has done twice.''
The French man and woman were taking a yacht from France from Australia when they and the boat were seized Sept. 2 in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia's northern coast. The pirates took them to the breakaway region of Puntland.
`Safe and Sound'
The couple are ``safe and sound,'' Sarkozy said. He wouldn't provide details of the raid, carried out by commandos from the Courbet frigate, which entered service in 1994. Sarkozy said he ordered forces at the French base in neighboring Djibouti to intervene when it became clear the yacht was being taken to the town of Eyl, where he said 150 people and 15 boats are held.
``When I had the certainty that they were being taken to Eyl, where an operation would have been difficult and their detention would have been prolonged, I decided it was time to act,'' Sarkozy said. The raid took place in open seas, he said.
In April, Somali pirates released a 30-strong French crew they'd seized after a ransom was paid. Naval commandos later seized six hijackers and part of the ransom in a helicopter-borne raid on Somali soil. The release of those pirates was one of the conditions the latest kidnappers set for the release of the couple freed last night.
Sarkozy said France would return the 12 pirates it now has in custody to Somalia only if it received assurances they will be judged, condemned, and made to serve their sentences. ``There will be no impunity,'' he said. The body of the dead pirate was turned over to his village, he said.
`Strong Signal'
``President Sarkozy has sent a very strong signal that France intends to respond to these attacks,'' said Dominique Montecer, head of operations at GEOS, a Montrouge, France-based risk management company that advises ship owners on how to avoid attacks. ``If all actors respond to his call, we can secure most of the shipping lanes in the area, even if 100 percent security is impossible'' because the zone is so large.
Sarkozy thanked Germany and Malaysia for their help in the recent raid, saying he couldn't provide any details of the nature of their assistance.
Of the 12 pirate attacks on boats worldwide that the International Maritime Bureau, or IMB, lists for the week of Sept. 9 to 15, seven took place off Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation's 3,300-kilometer (2,060-mile) coastline is considered one of the world's most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy. The number of attacks on vessels more than tripled last year to 31 incidents, compared with 10 a year earlier, according to the IMB.
Grenade-Launchers
Attacks are taking place further from Somalia's shores. A French fishing vessel last week escaped an assault by pirates armed with grenade-launchers in the Indian Ocean, 420 miles off the Somali coast, Sarkozy said.
The French Foreign Ministry advises pleasure craft to avoid the area.
Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the 166-kilometer Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels.
Ransom payments to Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden may climb to $50 million this year, Lloyd's List reported yesterday, citing Robert Davies, a kidnap and insurance underwriter at Hiscox Ltd.
``These pirates aren't bloodthirsty terrorists,'' said GEOS's Montecer. ``They see it as a business, the only one available to them to make sizeable sums of money.''
Merchant ships can reduce attacks through surveillance equipment and better communication with local naval forces, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at
By Gregory Viscusi
President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a global effort to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden after French naval commandos freed a couple held by Somali pirates.
One pirate was killed and six taken prisoner in the 10- minute raid by 30 naval commandos yesterday, Sarkozy said. It was the second French attack this year on Somali pirates.
``This is a warning to all those that take part in these criminal acts,'' Sarkozy said at a press conference in Paris today. ``I hope France is not the only country that assumes its responsibilities. I call for the mobilization of the international community. Crime must not pay.''
Sarkozy said he'll seek a debate at the United Nations Security Council on fighting piracy, as well as push for greater naval cooperation among the 27 members of the European Union. A Hong Kong chemical tanker with 22 crew was seized in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, Sarkozy said.
`` I decided to act to show our determination against piracy,'' Sarkozy said. ``The pirates now know they run risks. The world can't stay passive or indifferent. I ask other countries to act, as France has done twice.''
The French man and woman were taking a yacht from France from Australia when they and the boat were seized Sept. 2 in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia's northern coast. The pirates took them to the breakaway region of Puntland.
`Safe and Sound'
The couple are ``safe and sound,'' Sarkozy said. He wouldn't provide details of the raid, carried out by commandos from the Courbet frigate, which entered service in 1994. Sarkozy said he ordered forces at the French base in neighboring Djibouti to intervene when it became clear the yacht was being taken to the town of Eyl, where he said 150 people and 15 boats are held.
``When I had the certainty that they were being taken to Eyl, where an operation would have been difficult and their detention would have been prolonged, I decided it was time to act,'' Sarkozy said. The raid took place in open seas, he said.
In April, Somali pirates released a 30-strong French crew they'd seized after a ransom was paid. Naval commandos later seized six hijackers and part of the ransom in a helicopter-borne raid on Somali soil. The release of those pirates was one of the conditions the latest kidnappers set for the release of the couple freed last night.
Sarkozy said France would return the 12 pirates it now has in custody to Somalia only if it received assurances they will be judged, condemned, and made to serve their sentences. ``There will be no impunity,'' he said. The body of the dead pirate was turned over to his village, he said.
`Strong Signal'
``President Sarkozy has sent a very strong signal that France intends to respond to these attacks,'' said Dominique Montecer, head of operations at GEOS, a Montrouge, France-based risk management company that advises ship owners on how to avoid attacks. ``If all actors respond to his call, we can secure most of the shipping lanes in the area, even if 100 percent security is impossible'' because the zone is so large.
Sarkozy thanked Germany and Malaysia for their help in the recent raid, saying he couldn't provide any details of the nature of their assistance.
Of the 12 pirate attacks on boats worldwide that the International Maritime Bureau, or IMB, lists for the week of Sept. 9 to 15, seven took place off Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation's 3,300-kilometer (2,060-mile) coastline is considered one of the world's most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy. The number of attacks on vessels more than tripled last year to 31 incidents, compared with 10 a year earlier, according to the IMB.
Grenade-Launchers
Attacks are taking place further from Somalia's shores. A French fishing vessel last week escaped an assault by pirates armed with grenade-launchers in the Indian Ocean, 420 miles off the Somali coast, Sarkozy said.
The French Foreign Ministry advises pleasure craft to avoid the area.
Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the 166-kilometer Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels.
Ransom payments to Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden may climb to $50 million this year, Lloyd's List reported yesterday, citing Robert Davies, a kidnap and insurance underwriter at Hiscox Ltd.
``These pirates aren't bloodthirsty terrorists,'' said GEOS's Montecer. ``They see it as a business, the only one available to them to make sizeable sums of money.''
Merchant ships can reduce attacks through surveillance equipment and better communication with local naval forces, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at
