Action of 23 March 2010

Part of Piracy in Somalia Operation Ocean Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa

SPS Navarra

Date	23 March 2010
Location	off Somalia, Indian Ocean
Result	Spanish-Merchant victory

Belligerents

Spain

Somali Pirates

Strength

Spain:
1 frigate
1 helicopter
Merchants:
1 freighter

1 whaler
2 skiffs

Casualties and losses

1 freighter damaged

1 killed
6 captured
1 whaler sunk
1 skiff damaged

Operation Ocean Shield
Action of 23 March 2010 Action of 30 March 2010 Action of 1 April 2010 Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden MV Beluga Nomination incident SY Quest incident Operation Umeed-e-Nuh

Piracy off the coast of Somalia

The Action of 23 March 2010 was an attack by Somali pirates on a Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel and the subsequent capture of the pirates by the Spanish Navy. The encounter happened off the coast of Somalia and ended with the death of one pirate and the capture of six others.

Action

The MV Almezaan had already been attacked and captured twice by Somali pirates over the past few years. In both incidents, ransoms were paid and the freighter was released. After the second attack, the operators of the ship hired a security team to protect the vessel from the pirates. While sailing off Somalia towards Mogadishu in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, 25 March 2010, the Panama flagged vessel was engaged by pirates on a large whaler and two small skiffs.^[1] The pirates advanced towards the ship, firing AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. As the pirates closed in on their target, the Almezaan's security detachment responded. Little is known but the security force of a few men armed with small arms fired on the attacking skiffs which temporarily forced them back. One pirate was killed and one skiff sustained several small caliber bullet holes. The pirates then attacked again but the merchant vessel was apparently able to slip away. After the attack on the freighter, the pirates began to flee. The successful defense of the freighter and the death of a pirate by the security team was the first known engagement of its type to have occurred according to news reports. Almezaan's master reported the incident over the radio to the allied naval presence in the region and the Spanish frigate Navarra proceeded to the area after a short cruise.

Accounts differ in terms of what happened next, what is known is that the Spaniards sighted the large mother ship and the two skiffs, the Spanish commander then ordered their capture by launching a helicopter. The helicopter approached the vessels and fired a few warning shots. The pirates refused to surrender so a boarding party was dispatched to the pirate skiffs but by the time the Spanish boarding party had reached the pirates, they had already thrown their weapons into the sea and surrendered. The skiffs were captured and contained seven pirates, one of whom was the man the security team had killed. The Spanish also observed several of the gunshots in the side of the skiff. The sailors returned to their frigate and the mother ship was sunk by naval gunfire.^[1] The six living pirates were detained but later released by the Spanish Navy and sent back to Somalia in the remaining skiffs. The pirates were freed due to the crew of Almezaan who refused to testify against their attackers, possibly fearing reprisal.

Notes

1 2 La 'Navarra' intercepta dos esquifes y un barco nodriza Spanish MoD release, 23 March 2010 (in Spanish)

References

"EU force frees Somali 'pirates'". BBC News. 25 March 2010
"'Pirate' dies as ship's guards repel attack off Somalia". BBC News Online. 24 March 2010 Retrieved 24 March 2010.

Piracy
Periods	Ancient Mediterranean Golden Age Republic of Pirates Libertatia 21st century
Types of pirate	Privateers Buccaneers Corsairs Sindhi corsairs Timber pirate River pirate Brethren of the Coast Barbary pirates Moro pirates Wōkòu Vikings Ushkuiniks Narentines Cilician pirates Confederate privateer Baltic Slavic pirates Uskoks Cossack pirates Sea Beggars Sea Dogs Fillibusters
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Noted pirates	Klaus Störtebeker Bartholomew Roberts Hendrick Lucifer Hayreddin Barbarossa Blackbeard Stede Bonnet Anne Bonny Abshir Boyah Laurens de Graaf Michel de Grammont Calico Jack Alexandre Exquemelin William Kidd Edward Low Redbeard William Dampier Black Caesar Henri Caesar Roberto Cofresí Jean Lafitte Henry Morgan Lawrence Prince François l'Olonnais Henry Strangways Charles Gibbs Benito de Soto Diabolito Pedro Gilbert Mansel Alcantra Hippolyte Bouchard Samuel Hall Lord Nathaniel Gordon Albert W. Hicks Eli Boggs Bully Hayes Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah Louis-Michel Aury Shirahama Kenki John Newland Maffitt Joseph Baker Joseph Barss Jørgen Jørgensen Vincenzo Gambi Dominique You Pierre Lafitte John Hawkins Peter Easton Nicholas van Hoorn Moses Cohen Henriques Piet Pieterszoon Hein Charlotte de Berry Samuel Bellamy Benjamin Hornigold Samuel Mason Henry Every Roche Braziliano Gan Ning Liang Daoming Wang Zhi Limahong Zheng Zhilong Zheng Jing Cai Qian Cheung Po Tsai Ching Shih Shap Ng-tsai Chui A-poo Lai Choi San Fūma Kotarō Olivier Levasseur
Categories	Piracy Pirates By nationality Barbary pirates Female pirates Years in piracy Fictional pirates
Pirate ships	Adventure Galley Fancy Ganj-i-Sawai Queen Anne's Revenge Quedagh Merchant Saladin Whydah Gally Marquis of Havana Ambrose Light York
Pirate hunters	Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Angelo Emo Richard Avery Hornsby Jose Campuzano-Polanco Robert Maynard Chaloner Ogle Pompey Woodes Rogers David Porter James Brooke Miguel Enríquez (privateer)
Pirate battles and incidents	Jiajing wokou raids Turkish Abductions Chepo Expedition Battle of Mandab Strait Battle of Pianosa Blockade of Charleston Battle of Cape Fear River Battle of Ocracoke Inlet Capture of the William Sack of Campeche Attack on Veracruz Raid on Cartagena Battle of Cape Lopez Capture of the Fancy Persian Gulf Campaign Battle of New Orleans Anti-Piracy in the Aegean Anti-piracy in the West Indies Capture of the Bravo Action of 9 November 1822 Capture of the El Mosquito Battle of Doro Passage Falklands Expedition Great Lakes Patrol Pirate attacks in Borneo Balanguingui Expedition Battle of Tysami Battle of Tonkin River Battle of Nam Quan Battle of Ty-ho Bay Battle of the Leotung Antelope incident North Star affair Battle off Mukah Salvador Pirates Battle of Boca Teacapan Capture of the Ambrose Light Irene incident 1985 Lahad Datu ambush Operation Enduring Freedom – HOA Action of 18 March 2006 Action of 3 June 2007 Action of 28 October 2007 Dai Hong Dan incident Operation Atalanta Carré d'As IV incident Action of 11 November 2008 Action of 9 April 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking Operation Ocean Shield Action of 23 March 2010 Action of 1 April 2010 Action of 30 March 2010 Action of 5 April 2010 MV Moscow University hijacking Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden Beluga Nomination incident Battle off Minicoy Island Quest incident MT Zafirah hijacking MT Orkim Harmony hijacking
Slave trade	African slave trade Atlantic slave trade Arab slave trade Barbary slave trade Blockade of Africa African Slave Trade Patrol Capture of the Providentia Capture of the Presidente Capture of the El Almirante Capture of the Marinerito Capture of the Veloz Passagera Capture of the Brillante Amistad Incident Capture of the Emanuela
Fictional pirates	Tom Ayrton Barbe Rouge Hector Barbossa Captain Blood Captain Crook Captain Flint José Gaspar Captain Hook Don Karnage Monkey D. Luffy Captain Nemo One Piece Captain Pugwash Red Rackham Captain Sabertooth Sandokan Long John Silver Jack Sparrow Captain Stingaree Roronoa Zoro
Miscellaneous	Truce of Ratisbon Piracy Act 1698 Piracy Act 1717 Piracy Act 1837 Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law Child pirate Golden Age of Piracy Jolly Roger Walking the plank Treasure map Buried treasure Pirate booty No purchase, no pay Marooning Pirate code Pirate utopia Victual Brothers Pirate Round Libertatia Sack of Baltimore A General History of the Pyrates Mutiny Pegleg Eyepatch Letter of marque Davy Jones' Locker Air pirate Space pirate
Lists	Pirates Privateers Timeline of piracy Pirate films Women in piracy Fictional pirates Pirates in popular culture List of ships attacked by Somali pirates
Literature	Treasure Island Facing the Flag On Stranger Tides Castaways of the Flying Dutchman The Angel's Command Voyage of Slaves Pirate Latitudes

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