Pirates defeated as navy traning exercise turns into real-life rescue mission

A training exercise turned into a real-life rescue mission when pirates took over an oil tanker off the coast of West Africa. Navies from the United States, Ghana, Togo and Nigeria tracked the hijacked vessel through waters off five countries before Nigerian naval forces stormed aboard. It ended in a shoot-out which left one of the pirates dead. The mission, which began as a US-led training initiative with Ghana, is being hailed as the first major success in international maritime co-operation in the pirate-ridden Gulf of Guinea.

International cooperation is the new mantra for maritime security. We cannot go it alone

Nigerian Rear Admiral Henry Babalola

The mission began when the USNS Spearhead received word a pirate ship off the Ivory Coast had seized the MT Maximus, which was carrying 4,700 tons of diesel fuel. The Spearhead tracked down the hijacked vessel and followed it for two days. It sailed through Ghanian and Togo waters before steaming across the gulf toward the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. There, the Nigerian navy became involved and after eight hours of negotiation launched an assault. Six pirates were captured and 18 crew members freed. However, several pirates escaped with two crew members who remain hostages.

Africa