Sunk pirate 'mother ship' actually Thai fishing trawler: watchdog
Posted
The Somali pirate "mother ship" that the Indian Navy sank in the Gulf of Aden last week was actually a Thai ship carrying fishing equipment that was being hijacked, an anti-piracy watchdog says.
"This mistaken identity may have caused the incident," said Noel Choong, head of the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau's anti-piracy reporting centre, adding that the "tragic" incident should not hamper the fight against piracy.
Mr Choong said the ship had been taken over by armed pirates when it was fired upon.
Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea routes, has surged this year and recently pirates captured a Saudi supertanker carrying $US100 million worth of oil, the largest seizure ever.
In the November 18 incident, one crew member of the Thai ship, Ekawat Nava 5, was killed, one was rescued, and 14 remain missing.
Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, the owner of the ship, said on Tuesday that an Indian frigate, INS Tabar, fired on and sank his vessel suspecting it was a pirate ship, CNN reported.
He said the ship, carrying fishing equipment, was on the way to Yemen from Oman when it was set upon by pirates off the Horn of Africa. The pirates were seizing control of the ship when the Tabar moved in.
India's navy has insisted it fired in self-defence in response to an aggressive stance by the suspected pirate ship that day.
Naval officers on board the warship said they spotted pirates moving on deck with rocket propelled grenade launchers.
Mr Choong said the Indian officers might have seen armed pirates onboard the ship.
"But they (the Indian navy) might have not received our earlier bulletin about a Thai ship hijacked by pirates," he said. "That's why Indian navy ships should coordinate with the IMB and the naval coalition forces operating in the region."
India deployed the INS Tabar to escort Indian ships after the country's shipping firms said they were losing $US450,000 a month on cost overruns and delays in meeting deadlines.
-Reuters
Search for news
ABC News Online takes a look at the big stories from 2008.
