If it were Somalia, the captured ship and its crew would be stashed while awaiting negotiations to begin. But off Nigeria, something a little different happened, as Reuters reports "Nigerian navy says kills 12 pirates in gun battle": Pirates took control of the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged MT Notre on August 15, but an emergency signal was sent to the navy and several gunships were deployed to recover the vessel, Navy Flag Officer Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Hassan told reporters.Proving, I suppose, that even a not famously effective government can occasionally stumble into doing something right . . . and even a not famously effective government seems to be better than no government at all.
Navy gunships caught up with the vessel and forced it into Nigerian waters but while negotiating the ship's release, the pirates tried to escape on a speed boat. The navy boats pursued but were fired upon by the hijackers.
"The gun battle lasted for about 30 minutes after which they were overpowered. On taking over the speed boat, four of the militants were alive and unhurt while the rest of the pirates were killed in the crossfire," Sidi-Ali Hussan said.
The crew were all rescued unharmed from the MT Notre, which was carrying 17,000 metric tons of gasoline, he said.
Hat tip to Lee.
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