Despite successful raids by Malaysian and South Korean navies that rescued two ships and their crew members from Somali pirates, the European Union Naval Force said it will not follow suit because such raids could further endanger hostages.
Malaysia’s navy was holding seven Somali pirates Saturday who were apprehended in the second dramatic commando raid within hours on ships seized near the African coast, authorities said.
The operations gave Malaysia and South Korea dramatic successes in the battle against pirates who have long tormented shipping in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
The Royal Malaysian Navy said its commandos wounded three pirates in a gunbattle and rescued the 23 crew members on the Malaysian-flagged chemical tanker MT Bunga Laurel early Friday, shortly after the pirates stormed the vessel in the Gulf of Aden with assault rifles and pistols.
The operation came the same day as another stunning raid by South Korean commandos who freed a hijacked freighter. On Saturday, it was sailing toward Oman under the escort of a South Korean destroyer.
Wing Cmdr. Paddy O’Kennedy, an EU Naval Force spokesman, said the force will not change its approach.
“Our priority is the safety of the hostages. The pirates are using the hostages as human shields. … I am sure they will carry out the threats if we got too close,” O’Kennedy said.
The force now has four ships patrolling the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. The EU’s force for Somalia, also called Operation Atalanta, escorts merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid. The force said it also “protects vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean” to deter and disrupt piracy.
O’Kennedy said the force disrupted 64 attempted hijackings last year by Somali pirate groups.
Twenty-nine vessels and 703 hostages are now being held by pirates off Somalia.