Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200812/20081219/article_385107.htm
A member of the 30-man crew on the Zhenhua 4 makes beer-bottle bombs to fight off Somali pirates after the Chinese ship was attacked on Tuesday off the coast of Somalia. The crew used water cannons and Molotov cocktails to battle the marauding pirates before they were rescued with the help of an international anti-piracy force.
China to send warships to battle Somali pirates
Created: 2008-12-19 2:07:11
CHINA is getting ready to dispatch warships to waters off the coast of Somalia to join the international community's fight against piracy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The announcement came two days after a Chinese ship, with help from helicopters from other nations, fought off a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a press conference in Beijing that China welcomed stronger international cooperation in countering piracy, which was why the country decided to send vessels.
"Preparations are now under way" for China's first such mission, Liu said, without elaborating.
The Beijing-based Global Times said yesterday that two destroyers and a large supply ship were scheduled to set sail from Sanya City in Hainan Province for the region after Christmas to defend Chinese shipping.
The first tour of duty would be three months, the newspaper reported.
Attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast have become a major problem, Liu said.
According to the Kenya Seafarer's Assistance Program, 300 ships were attacked by pirates last year in that area, according to the Kenya Seafarer's Assistance Program. More than 40 ships were hijacked in the first 11 months of this year.
During the same period, 1,265 Chinese ships have passed through the area - an average of three to four a day, Liu said. About 20 percent of them have come under attack, he said.
There have been seven pirate attacks involving Chinese ships or crews this year, he said, including the Chinese cargo ship attacked on Tuesday.
The crew of the Zhenhua 4 was rescued with the help of an international anti-piracy force that sent in attack helicopters.
A Chinese shipping company yesterday awarded the 30 crew members US$10,000 each for their courage in fighting off the attempted hijacking.
Nine pirates armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns boarded the Chinese ship. The crew members locked themselves in their quarters and used fire hoses and Molotov cocktails to prevent the attackers from entering, an official with the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said.
"Our crew members, who had been well trained and prepared, used water cannons, self-made incendiary bombs, beer bottles and anything else that could be used to battle with them," Peng Weiyuan, the captain of Zhenhua 4, said yesterday in a telephone interview with China Central Television. "Thirty minutes later, the pirates gestured to us for a cease-fire.
"Then the helicopter from the joint fleet came to help us."
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia this year has earned gunmen millions of dollars in ransom, raised shipping insurance costs and caused international alarm.
The announcement came two days after a Chinese ship, with help from helicopters from other nations, fought off a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a press conference in Beijing that China welcomed stronger international cooperation in countering piracy, which was why the country decided to send vessels.
"Preparations are now under way" for China's first such mission, Liu said, without elaborating.
The Beijing-based Global Times said yesterday that two destroyers and a large supply ship were scheduled to set sail from Sanya City in Hainan Province for the region after Christmas to defend Chinese shipping.
The first tour of duty would be three months, the newspaper reported.
Attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast have become a major problem, Liu said.
According to the Kenya Seafarer's Assistance Program, 300 ships were attacked by pirates last year in that area, according to the Kenya Seafarer's Assistance Program. More than 40 ships were hijacked in the first 11 months of this year.
During the same period, 1,265 Chinese ships have passed through the area - an average of three to four a day, Liu said. About 20 percent of them have come under attack, he said.
There have been seven pirate attacks involving Chinese ships or crews this year, he said, including the Chinese cargo ship attacked on Tuesday.
The crew of the Zhenhua 4 was rescued with the help of an international anti-piracy force that sent in attack helicopters.
A Chinese shipping company yesterday awarded the 30 crew members US$10,000 each for their courage in fighting off the attempted hijacking.
Nine pirates armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns boarded the Chinese ship. The crew members locked themselves in their quarters and used fire hoses and Molotov cocktails to prevent the attackers from entering, an official with the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said.
"Our crew members, who had been well trained and prepared, used water cannons, self-made incendiary bombs, beer bottles and anything else that could be used to battle with them," Peng Weiyuan, the captain of Zhenhua 4, said yesterday in a telephone interview with China Central Television. "Thirty minutes later, the pirates gestured to us for a cease-fire.
"Then the helicopter from the joint fleet came to help us."
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia this year has earned gunmen millions of dollars in ransom, raised shipping insurance costs and caused international alarm.
Agencies/Shanghai Daily
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