International maritime laws have prevented authorities from prosecuting a group of Somali pirates captured by a Danish warship in the Aden Gulf this weekend. Denmark’s defence minister said a lack of witnesses forced a decision to free the rogue sailors.
According to maritime command at NATO, the Danish vessel, Esbern Snarre, was summoned on Saturday after a ship from Panama reported attacks from pirates. When arriving at the scene, however, the Esbern Snarre and US carrier Winston Churchill found both the Panama craft and a Norwegian boat had been boarded. A helicopter was deployed but the pirates fled in their boats towards the Somali coast after the Danish ship fired warning shots.
Both knives and evidence of ammunition were found when authorities reached the pirates’ boats but the men were released due to a lack of evidence against them. Talking in an interview with news bureau Ritzau, Denmark’s defence minister Gitte Lillelund Bech said neither the Danish or American forces saw the Somalis open fire on the ships.
Due to complex and often conflicting maritime and national laws, NATO forces rarely bring pirates in the Arabian Sea to trial. The Esbern Snarre is on patrol in place of the Absalon warship, which was also forced to release ten Somali pirates after arresting them last year.
