Eleven pirates who had been apprehended by the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate, HNLMS Van Amstel, have been convicted in the Seychelles Supreme Court of committing acts of piracy and operating a pirate vessel between 7 – 11 May 2012.
Their sentences ranged from eighteen months to sixteen years.
Rescue Operation HNLMS van Amstel
The HNLMS van Amstel captured the pirates on 11 May 2012, after the warship’s Lynx helicopter sighted a suspicious fishing dhow towing 2 skiffs, 400 nautical miles off the Somali coast.
When the warship’s boarding team approached the dhow, the Dutch Navy crew found eleven suspected pirates of Somali origin and a total of seventeen hostages on board.
After taking the suspected pirates to HNLMS Van Amstel, the Dutch boarding team found significant evidence that linked the eleven men to an armed attack on Motor Tanker Super Lady a few days earlier.
The seventeen freed hostages, who were Iranian fishermen, were very grateful to the Dutch sailors for rescuing them from the armed pirates.
Counter Piracy Operation
The Royal Netherlands Navy has contributed warships to the EU Naval Force since the EU counter piracy operation began in December 2008. The current EU Naval Force flagship is HNLMS Johan de Witt, with Commodore Peter Lenselink embarked as the Force Commander.
Picture: Original transfer of pirates to the Seychelles from HNLMS Van Amstel in May 2012 (by eunavfor.eu)
