The action of 30 March 2010 was a naval battle involving a

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

of the

Seychelles Coast Guard The Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) is a branch of the Seychelles People's Defence Force created in 1993. It is a maritime, military, multi-mission service. They acquired responsibility for search and rescue for vessel incidents as well as environmen ...

and two groups of

Somali pirate Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding areas and has a long and troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. I ...

vessels. The encounter resulted in the freeing of twenty-seven hostages held by the pirates.

Background

''Topaz'', a of the

, was sent out on an anti-piracy patrol during late March as part of a new initiative by the Government of

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

to combat the steady increase in Somali piracy.

Battle

On 30 April, Seychelles Coast Guard patrol vessel ''Topaz'' approached a captured vessel where nine Somali pirates were holding six Seychellois and 21

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian sailors hostage, and were attempting to reach the Somali coast. A Somali translator aboard ''Topaz'' sent audio calls urging the immediate release of the hostages, but the pirates ignored these demands, and continued towards the coast of Somalia even when warning shots were fired by ''Topaz''. Seychellois President

James Michel James Alix Michel, GCSK (born August 16, 1944) is a Seychellois politician and the former President of Seychelles from year 2004 to 2016. He previously served as Vice-President under his predecessor, France-Albert René, from 1996 to 2004. Mi ...

gave the order to prevent the pirates from reaching the Somali coastline at all cost. The pirates opened fire on ''Topaz'' with

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

s, which ''Topaz'' evaded. ''Topaz'' then opened fire on the

dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spor ...

's engine with 12.7 mm machine guns, firing a total of 10,000 rounds. The engine caught fire, forcing all of the pirates and hostages to jump overboard. ''Topaz'' then rescued all of the hostages and arrested the Somali pirates. While en route back to the Seychelles, ''Topaz'' was approached by Somali pirates in a

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...

and two

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have devel ...

s. The pirates opened fire on ''Topaz'', after which ''Topaz'' returned fire. The pirate trawler caught fire and exploded after being hit, and a skiff was also sunk by the return fire, while the last skiff managed to escape. ''Topaz'' then proceeded to Mahé.

Aftermath

The operation was successfully completed with no casualties to either combatant, though one Iranian seaman, a hostage of the pirates, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. ''Topaz'' arrived in Port Victoria on 1 April 2010, and was met by the families of hostages. The nine pirates being held aboard ''Topaz'' were disembarked and taken into custody by the Seychelles Police.http://www.univeralpadurii.ro/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17911&titlu=Seychelles_Coast_Guard_patrol_ship_Topaz_receives_hero's_welcome_on_arrival_at_Port_Victoria

Notes

External links

Seychelles downs pirates, rescues crews
– Afrol News
Seychelles Coast Guard patrol ship Topaz receives hero's welcome on arrival at Port Victoria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Of 2010 03 30 Conflicts in 2010 2010 in Seychelles Naval battles of Operation Enduring Freedom Naval battles post-1945 Naval battles involving Seychelles 2010 in Somalia Naval battles involving pirates Battles and conflicts without fatalities March 2010 events in Africa