Danish Warship Frees Ship Hijacked by Pirates

NATO says that a Danish warship has freed a hijacked fishing vessel and arrested 16 suspected Somali pirates.

Sunday’s press release says the HDMS Esbern Snare stopped a suspicious vessel with two skiffs on deck. The warship fired warning shots and sent a boarding party to the hijacked Yemeni vessel.

NATO says there were 16 suspected pirates and two Yemeni hostages onboard. The original fishing crew of nine people had been held for a year but most of them had been released.

Sometimes owners of small vessels without insurance are unable to raise the ransoms demanded by the pirates.

Somalia has not had a functioning government in two decades, and piracy has flourished off its coast.