Guards beat back multiboat pirate attack

Guards beat back multiboat pirate attack    An armed security team aboard a commercial bulk carrier was able to beat back a concerted attack by Somali pirates who attempted to swarm the vessel from all sides, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.
   The incident took place Saturday about 20 nautical miles east-northeast of Assab, Eritrea, in the Red Sea.
   The attack is significant because it shows pirates are organizing to hunt in packs to overwhelm defenses, and further demonstrates that Somali ransom-seekers are extending their range of operation to the Red Sea, previously considered a relative safe haven from attacks in the Gulf of Aden.
   The report stated the private guards fired warning flares as 12 skiffs each loaded with five to eight pirates, guns and boarding ladders approached at a high rate of speed. When the flares failed to deter the pirates, the mercenaries fired a round of warning shots, causing most of the speedboats to break off the attack. Two boats continued to chase the vessel and returned fire, the IMB report said.
   The skiffs and the security team exchanged fire and after 30 minutes and numerous approaches the skiffs aborted and moved away.
   'While the rather ragged nature of the attack illustrates that the pirates still lack discipline, it should concern everyone in the maritime community that so many pirates would group together to attack a merchant vessel simultaneously,' Neptune Maritime Security, a provider of onboard protective services based in Dorset, England. ' Eric Kulisch