| April 2009 raid off Somalia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofPiracy in Somalia,Operation Atalanta | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France Germany | Somali pirates | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Guillaume Goutay[1] | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| France: 3 frigates 70 marine commandos 1 C-130 Hercules Germany: 1 frigate | 1 yacht 5 pirates | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 1 yacht captured 2 killed 3 captured | ||||||
| 1 civilian killed | |||||||
TheApril 2009 raid off Somalia was a military operation conducted byFrance andGermany to retake the FrenchyachtTanit on 9 April 2009, a yacht which had been captured bySomali pirates on 4 April 2009. It occurred duringOperation Atalanta, aEuropean Union mission inSomali waters.[2] The pirates had attempted to extract a ransom by holding the yacht's occupants hostage, but were ultimately defeated when theFrench Navy assaulted them.
Tanit, a privately ownedFrench yacht named after thePhoenician lunar goddess, with its five crew and passengers was sailing toZanzibar when it was boarded by pirates on 4 April. Among the hostages were a family of three including a three-year-old boy, and two friends of the family who joined them inAden. The ship's owners, the Lemaçons, started fromVannes in July 2008 and sailed south to the coast ofSpain. This was a family trip "to escape consumer society". They planned to visitKenya andZanzibar. Even after meeting with a couple whose yacht,Carré d'As IV, had been captured by pirates, and laterrescued by French commandos,[3] they continued on their journey.
The pirates headed the vessel for the coast but were overrun two days later by a French frigate. French forces attempted to negotiate with the pirates offering them money and offering to exchange the mother and child for a French naval officer. The pirates declined this. Instead, they were overheard discussing using explosives to blow up the yacht.[3]
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Tanit |
| Captured | 4 April 2009 |
| Fate | Rescued, action of 9 April 2009 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Colin Archer cutter |
| Length | 12.5 m (41 ft) |
Fifty commandos were sent from France to a French base atDjibouti on 9 April, in readiness for the assault. Joined locally by 20 more commandos, they parachuted from aC-130 Hercules plane into the sea, to be picked up by three French warships that had been tracking the pirates, together with a German frigate equipped with hospital facilities.[3]
The French attempted to negotiate with the pirates, and even offered to exchange one of the hostages for an officer. The pirates refused to cooperate, stating that they could get better terms once they reached the coast. Seeing the pirates were uncooperative asniper on-board one of the vessels managed to shoot down the sails and to damage the mast and the yacht. This the French believed would put them in a better negotiating position, but it created havoc on board, causing the pirates to refuse to accede to any of the French demands.[3]
Allegedly, after threats to execute the hostages were heard, the French Navy decided the next day to board the boat and free the hostages. French commandos attacked the hijacked vessel from different directions in two speedboats. The pirates opened fire and the special forces team fired back. French naval commandos then boarded the vessel and rescued the hostages.[1] However, Florent Lemaçon, the boat's captain and father of the three-year-old boy, was being held hostage in his cabin. When French commandos entered, they engaged in a shootout with the pirates, during which Lemaçon was killed.[4]
After the fighting ended the four freed hostages were taken in one of the frigates, to Djibouti, and from there transported back to France.[5] Three pirates were taken toRennes for questioning.[6]
In total, 70 men of the French naval forces, including men of theFrench commandoHubert, FrenchfrigatesAconit,Floréal and theavisoCommandant Ducuing and German frigateMecklenburg-Vorpommern participated in the operation.[7]
| Diplomatic posts | |
|---|---|
| Diplomacy |
|
| Conflicts |
|
| Incidents | |
| Related |
|
