Canadian warship thwarts suspected pirates
Warding off suspected pirates and coming to the aid of a boatload of fleeing Somali refugees is all in a day’s work for the crew of HMCS Winnipeg.
Last week the Canadian warship sent its Sea King helicopter after several skiffs that were shadowing a commercial vessel, using a large red “STOP” sign to tell the speedboat crews to get lost.
Commander Craig Baines says the suspected pirates did just that when they saw the sign, written in Somali, hanging out the chopper’s door – along with the aircraft’s machine-gun.
The Pacific Opal vessel had earlier radioed for help.
Commander Baines adds that today the Winnipeg saw more action when it spotted a boatload of Somalis, trying to get from Somalia to Yemen. He said the Somalis had been at sea for two days and were hungry and thirsty, so crew from the Winnipeg were able to get supplies to them.
The Winnipeg is currently participating in a NATO-led counter-piracy mission known as Operation Allied Protector. With a crew of approximately 240 officers and non-commissioned members, the warship has been at sea since early February, and won’t return to Victoria until August.
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