Message in bottle helped Navy to free pirate victims

British forces freed an Italian cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates after retrieving a message in a bottle tossed by hostages from a porthole.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Oct 2011, 07:00 BST

The message inside confirmed that the crew was safely sealed inside an armoured area.

All 23 crew members of the Montecristo cargo ship were brought to safety and the 11 pirates arrested.

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The crew, seven Italians, six Ukrainians and 10 Indians, locked themselves inside an armoured area of the vessel when the pirates boarded the ship, Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said. “Rubber boats circled the Montecristo, while a helicopter hovered above. The pirates surrendered right away, some throwing their weapons in the sea, and were arrested,” said Mr La Russa.

The pirates attacked the ship on Monday 620 miles off Somalia as the crew was hauling scrap iron to Vietnam on a journey that had begun on September 20 in Liverpool.

The operation was carried out by two ships – one Royal Navy and one American.

The Ministry of Defence in London said the Fort Victoria “responded to calls to assist a pirated Italian merchant ship”.

Related topics:Royal Navy