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In recent years, in the area close to the eastern coast of the African continent, there have been frequent incidents of pirates hijacking merchant ships, and pirates with light and heavy weapons often disguised as fishermen, quietly approaching merchant ships, or launching surprise attacks to board ships and rob them, or threaten to control the crew with force, and take the crew as hostages, so as to achieve the purpose of hijacking merchant ships and demanding ransom. Although the armed strength of these pirates, who are mainly poor and destitute, cannot compete with the convoy formations composed of the naval forces of various countries. However, due to the fact that the hijacking actions of the pirates were concealed and sudden, and after they succeeded, they often took the crew members hostage and threatened the lives of the crew members, so that the escort formation could not carry out armed rescue, exert "fists and feet," and sometimes even let the pirates demand ransom.
But the pirates who participated in the hijacking of the oil tanker "Moscow University" on May 5, 2010 were unlucky. On this day, the wind and sun in the Gulf of Aden are beautiful, and the blue sea is calm and serene. However, at this time, the pirates have their eyes on an oil tanker that is sailing comfortably. At that time, the tanker "Moscow University", operated by a Russian enterprise, flying the Liberian flag, was sailing from the Red Sea to China. The tanker "Moscow University" has a displacement of 10More than 60,000 tons, which were loaded with 8 at the time of the incident60,000 tons**, worth about $52 million, and 23 Russian crew members. When the tanker was surrounded by pirates armed with **, the unarmed crew of 23 could only temporarily take refuge in a safe room and wait for rescue. Generally speaking, the safe room was well fed, had communication equipment, and had a sturdy door that could only be opened from the inside, and the pirates were helpless for a while.
After the Russian Navy verified the situation of the hijacked oil tanker and confirmed that the crew was in a relatively isolated place, the marines who participated in the rescue mission with the ship began the rescue operation at 7:45 a.m. Moscow time on the 6th. Before the Russian Marine Corps assault, a *** was first dispatched for close reconnaissance, and at the same time, several speedboats carrying anti-terrorist teams also quietly approached the tanker. When the Marine Corps crew flew over the tanker "Moscow University", they lowered the rope, and the team members quickly slid down the rope, landed on the ship, and engaged in a shootout with the pirates, while the members of the anti-terrorist team on the boat also successfully boarded the ship. After a brief exchange of fire, the pirates were subdued. All 23 crew members were rescued, and the entire operation did not result in rescuers or crew members**. According to a spokesperson for the shipping company, "All crew members are healthy and unscathed. According to him, the decision to launch an armed rescue operation was made because all crew members were in a safe place and the pirates could not take hostages.
During this rescue operation, the Russian marines captured 10 pirates, several of whom were injured and one was killed. Firearms, including large-caliber machine guns, as well as boarding tools such as grenades and ladders, were seized from captured pirates.
According to the information provided by the Russian news agency, the rescue operation was supported by many parties, and a United States aircraft in the sea area where the incident occurred provided assistance for the successful rescue operation. Before the operation began, the *** had flown over the hijacked tanker for reconnaissance and passed the information obtained to the Russian Navy. At the same time, the EU naval forces have also been maintaining tactical cooperation with Russia, maintaining contact with Russian crews through radio, providing support to the Russian side and playing an important role in the successful rescue of Russian marines from the hostages.
After the incident, EU Navy spokesman Haber praised the rescue operation of the Russian marines as "excellent".