Nairobi, Kenya, October 15, 2011 – The Royal Navy chief who led a daring rescue to free a hijacked ship from the clutches of pirates last night told how they got there “in the nick of time”.

Captain Gerry Northwood’s team sprang into action after finding an SOS message in a bottle from the bulk carrier MV Montecristo that had been seized by Somali thugs.

When troops, including 40 marine commandos, boarded the vessel the gang, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, had ripped apart steel doors and frames, wrecked cabins and blasted an RPG round through the bridge.

And after spending 24 hours scouring the decks for the 23 crew, the thugs were about to smash into the engine room where they were hiding.

Capt Northwood said: “We basically just smothered the Montecristo. It was only then the 11 pirates realized the game was up and surrendered.

“They were close to breaking down the door to the engine room. This was a wild, ­unpredictable gang. None of us would want to have been captured.”

The workers had fled in terror to the room as the pirates swooped. But in the rush they forgot to take their hand-held radios and were left with no communication to the outside world.

One managed to throw out the distress message in a bottle through a funnel. It was picked up by an American frigate USS De Wert patrolling the Somali basin off the coast of Oman.

The Royal Navy RFA vessel Fort Victoria and the US ship backed by an Australian aircraft and navy Lynx helicopter attacked the Italian-registered Montecristo to bring the 24-hour siege to an end.

Source: The Mirror

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