US, UK forces free Italian ship from Somali pirates

British and US commandos raided a hijacked Italian vessel off the coast of Somalia, capturing the pirates and freeing the carriers crew of 23, the Italian government said.The vessel has been freed thanks to the joint intervention of two ships from the United States and British navies operating as part of NATOs anti-piracy operations, Ocean Shield, the foreign ministry said in a statement.The pirates, said to number 11, gave themselves up and are being held in detention, the statement added.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa told journalists at a press conference that the US and British commandos had used helicopters to judge the danger a raid would pose to the crew, but had met no resistance from the pirates. A British helicopter flew over the bridge and the pirates gave themselves up immediately, he said.Some had already thrown their weapons into the sea, he added.In London, the Ministry of Defence said the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel Fort Victoria boarded the MV Montecristo without opposition after responding to a call for help from the Italian ship and a US Navy frigate. Due to the presence of the warships, 11 suspected pirates on board the pirated vessel surrendered without force, an MoD spokesman said.We are relieved, but have not yet been able to contact the crew, said a spokesman for the Tuscany-based DAlesio shipping company. In the meantime were contacting the families, he added.The Montecristo was travelling from Liverpool to Vietnam with a cargo of scrap iron when it was captured about 620 miles east of the Somali coast on Monday, with a crew of seven Italians, 10 Ukrainians and six Indian nationals. Four of the Italians were security guards but they were unarmed and served as look-outs for potential attacks, Italian media said.The crew used tricks out of a film, throwing a bottle in the sea with an SOS message inside, La Russa said, adding that they had then barricaded themselves in.The pirates had made no demands... and will be handed over to the authorities, he added. Italys Foreign Minister Franco Frattini described the raid as an important operation in international anti-piracy collaboration and praised the British and American commandos for the missions success.Earlier on Tuesday, Italys shipowners association Confitarma announced it was signing a protocol with the defence ministry to allow military forces to travel aboard ships in dangerous areas to ward off pirate attacks.Ten teams of six Italian marines will be on standby to be stationed on vessels sailing in risk areas.