French capture pirates

French capture pirates    French forces reportedly captured 11 pirates on Wednesday after attacking their “mother ship” some 550 miles east of Mombasa, Kenya.
   The pirates were reportedly seized after the French helped the containership Safmarine Asia fight off attackers.
   The pirates are reportedly being held on the French frigate Nivose, part of the international task force trying to protect merchant shipping near Somalia.
   Safmarine said the Liberian-flag ship was attacked early Tuesday afternoon, but was able to evade the attack.
   The ship, which has a capacity of 1,893 TEUs according to the Clarkson Shipping Intelligence Network, is owned by Eastwood Maritime Inc., and is chartered to Safmarine. It operates in the feeder service between Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania and Salalah in Oman.
   Safmarine is a member of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, as is Maersk Line Ltd., whose U.S.-flag containership Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates last week, and whose captain was liberated on Sunday after U.S. Navy snipers killed three pirates.
   Capt. Richard Phillips, the master of the Maersk Alabama, had been scheduled to meet his crew in Mombasa and fly home with them Wednesday to the United States. But Phillips was unable to return home when the Navy ship he was on, the USS Bainbridge, was forced to scramble to avert yet another pirate attack.
   The Bainbridge helped repulse pirates who attacked the U.S.-flag Liberty Sun, a U.S. flag bulker, on Wednesday morning. The ship was attacked by pirates firing rocket grenades.
   Pirates have seized four vessels and more than 75 hostages since Sunday’s rescue of Phillips. The number of crewmembers being held by Somali pirates is thought to be more than 300 on 16 different ships.