Official: Indian navy mistakenly sank Thai trawler

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081126/ap_on_re_as/as_piracy;_ylt=AvFwo._

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Official: Indian navy mistakenly sank Thai trawler

By EILEEN NG, Associated Press Writer Eileen Ng, Associated Press

Writer – 9 mins ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A suspected pirate vessel that was destroyed

by the Indian navy last week near Somalia was actually a Thai fishing

trawler that had been hijacked by pirates, a maritime official said

Wednesday.

Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy

reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said one Thai crew member died when

the Indian frigate INS Tabar fired on the boat in the Gulf of Aden on

Nov. 18.

Fourteen others are missing and a Cambodian sailor was rescued four

days later by passing fishmermen, he said. The IMB received a report

on the apparent mistake late Tuesday from Bangkok-based Sirichai

Fisheries, which owned the Ekawat Nava5 vessel, he said.

" The Indian navy assumed it was a pirate vessel because they may have

seen armed pirates on board the boat which has been hijacked

earlier, " Choong said.

India's navy last week said the INS Tabar, which began patrolling the

gulf on Nov. 2, battled a pirate " mother vessel " on Nov. 18, setting

the ship ablaze.

In New Delhi, Indian navy spokesman Commander Nirad Sinha admitted

Wednesday it was possible the ship was hijacked but defended the INS

Tabar's action, saying it was responding to pirates' threat to attack

it.

" In so far as we are concerned, both its description and its intent

were that of a pirate ship, " he said. " Only after we were fired upon

did we fire. We fired in self defense. There were gun-toting guys

with RPGs on it. "

Choong said Sirichai Fisheries found out about the mishap after

speaking to the Cambodian sailor, who is now recuperating in a

hospital in Yemen. The trawler was headed from Oman to Yemen to

deliver fishing equipment when it was hijacked, he said.

" We are saddened with what has happened. It's an unfortunate tragedy.

We hope that this incident won't affect the anti-piracy operation by

the multi-coalition navies there, " Choong added.

Somalia, an impoverished nation caught up in an Islamic insurgency,

has not had a functioning government since 1991. Somali pirates have

become increasingly brazen recently, seizing eight vessels in the

past two weeks, including a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100

million worth of crude oil.

There have been 96 pirate attacks so far this year in Somali waters,

with 39 ships hijacked. Fifteen ships with nearly 300 crew are still

in the hands of pirates, which have demanded multimillion dollar

ransom.

At present, warships from Denmark, India, Malaysia, Russia, the U.S.

and NATO patrol a vast international maritime corridor, escorting

some merchant ships and responding to distress calls in the area.

Shippers worldwide have called for a military blockade of the waters

off Somalia's coast to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea,

but NATO officials said there were no such plans. France has also

rejected such a call, saying it was not feasible.

_____

Associated Press Writer Muneeza Naqvi in New Delhi contributed to

this report.

[Guest guest]

This is a result of poor intelligence and the scattershot methods being used again the pirates now. if we are going to work against the pirates, what is needed is central command that would track all ships moving through the area on legitimate business.

Now, this doesn't mean a UN command or "global police force" though some would indeed try to make it so. Joint missions like this have been carried out many times in the past. All it would take is for member nations, though participating in the patrols, to agree to a command structure with each contributing what they can. The US would probably be best for Command and Control, Communications, Tracking and Intelligence. The Russians would be better at the actual patrolling and making contacts, so would some of the others.

That this Thai vessel was attacked by an Indian ship only shows how tired some nations are of the pirates and that they would be willing to take a hard line. However, the effort needs to be focused or more of this will happen. Then again, if the Thai were fishing illegally in Somali waters, then that's their hard luck.

In a message dated 11/26/2008 1:14:09 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

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