Defence Journalist Tom Newton-Dunn of The Sun newspaper has struck a blow against piracy, on a major Royal Navy mission — by sinking a PIRATE boat.
 
He fired a fearsome minigun to destroy a wooden skiff which had been used in the hijacking of a ship.

The Sun is the first to join the five-nation force sent to curb ruthless gangs in the most dangerous seas in the world.

Northumberland found the skiff abandoned and drifting soon after it had been used to attack and capture 75,000-ton cargo ship MV Saldanha.

It was actually a fishing boat, stolen from its original owners who may have been murdered.

First it was boarded by Royal Marines, who found two rocket-propelled grenades, 16 fuel cans, a ladder and a drug stash.

Then Northumberland’s captain, Commander Martin Simpson, ordered it be destroyed so other pirates could not use it.

Newton-Dunn opened fire with the minigun, one of the frigate’s 30mm cannons and two Marine snipers joined in the barrage.

Cmdr Simpson said pirates normally have their own fibre-glass craft and may have tried the fishing boat as a cover.

The Greek-owned Saldanha was seized on Sunday with 22 crew on board, but the naval force was 150 miles away.

In the last nine months of 2008 there were 42 hijackings off Somalia with owners paying £100million in ransom money.

Since the warships and a similar US-led force arrived in January there have been just three.

The Royal Navy’s last big pirate hunt was in 1816, along the North African coast.

Image: © 2008 News Group Newspapers Ltd

Related Links:
www.thesun.co.uk
Watch video of the sinking