Following the release of FV Golden Wave, the Finnish warship, Pohjanmaa, provides assistance
The
EUNAVFOR warship, FNS POHJANMAA, carried out one of its first counter-piracy tasks when it secured and assisted the fishing
vessel GOLDEN WAVE after a request to provide assistance came from the South Korean
government. The vessel, which was attacked on 9 October 2010 and kept in
the hands of pirates for 123 days, with 43 sailors aboard, including 39 Kenyans, 2 Chinese and 2 South
Koreans, was released after four months of captivity in Somalia on
Wednesday 9 February 2011 at 0900 local time (1500 Korean time), stated Seoul's foreign ministry and a local industry
source in Kenya.
No report of any ransom payment has been made, and in light of the South Koreans stance of not negotiating with pirates, questions were raised about the news of an unconditional release.
EU NAVFOR had reported that the crew were in need of food, water and medical
aid, and had been asked by the South Korean Government to render aid.
The Finnish warship,
FNS POHJANMAA,
encountered the Korean vessel early on Thursday morning and found the
original crew of 43 persons on board.
FNS POHJANMAA’s boarding team
searched and secured the vessel, in order to make sure that pirates
were no longer present.
FNS POHJANMAA provided medical aid and
basic necessities to the crew who had been left without any water or
food.
POHJANMAA's doctor examined the crew and found that no one was
seriously injured, although some of the Kenyans are said to be suffering from minor health problems like malaria.
The ship was in poor condition after its extended period of captivity, subsequently the Finnish
crew provided technical support to the ship to ensure it was seaworthy and able to sail its
next destination. It is believed that the warship will escort the fishing vessel to Mombasa, Kenya, and is expected to arrive sometime next week.
Clearly, the crew of the
GOLDEN WAVE was happy to be released and grateful for the assistance and aid that
POHJANMAA had provided.
(Images: EUNAVFOR.eu)
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