Somali pirates seize 2 vessels in Gulf of Aden

[unhappycamper]

Somali pirates seize 2 vessels in Gulf of Aden
By Ahmed Al-Haj - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 16, 2008 15:23:30 EST

SAN’A, Yemen — Somali pirates seized on Tuesday a tugboat operated by the French oil company Total and a Turkish cargo ship as the U.N. anti-crime agency called for a special maritime police force for the insecure Gulf of Aden coastline.

Somali pirates have seized more than 40 vessels off Somalia’s 1,880-mile coastline this year. Before the latest seizures, maritime officials say 14 remained in pirate hands — including a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million in crude and a Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons. Also held are more than 250 crew members.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, urged law enforcement officers on Tuesday to deploy on warships as “ship riders” to seize pirates and try them in the arresting officer’s home country.

“Pirates cannot be keelhauled or forced to walk the plank, nor should they be dumped off the Somali coast. They need to be brought to justice,” he said.

A similar approach has helped prosecute drug traffickers in the Caribbean, he added.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_pirates_ships_seized_121608/%2e