Russian special forces rappelled onto a disabled oil tanker taken over by Somali pirates, freeing 23 Russian sailors and arresting the pirates during a dawn raid Thursday, the commander of the EU Naval Force said. Pirates on Wednesday hijacked the MV Moscow University in the Gulf of Aden with its 23-member crew and a cargo of crude oil worth $52 million. The European Union’s naval force said the Russian warship Marshal Shaposhnikov had sent in a helicopter that returned fire after being shot at by pirates. A spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Igor Lyakin-Frolov, confirmed that some pirates had been captured, but said it was unclear if there were casualties among them. Russian news agencies reported the death of one pirate during the raid, but Kuznetsov told AP that information was still being looked into. The ship's owner, Novoship, said in a statement that the decision to free the ship was made knowing "that the crew was under safe cover inaccessible to the pirates and that the lives and health of the sailors was not threatened by anything." He said the EU Naval Force had been working at a tactical level with the Russians, and that EU Naval Force personnel talked to the Russian crew by VHF radio.
– Russian commandos rappelled from helicopters to storm a hijacked oil tanker off the coast of Somalia at dawn today, freeing the ship's crew of 23 Russians and capturing the pirates. One pirate was killed in the operation, but there were no other injuries aboard the SS Moscow University, the AP reports. The ship's owner says the decision to strike was made with the knowledge that the crew had locked themselves in a safe room and were not at risk. A Kremlin spokesman praised the "excellent job" done by both the crew and the commandos, noting that the crew had been well prepared for an emergency. A spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry told Reuters that the captured pirates will be probably be handed over to regional authorities.