Sierra Leone seeks joint investigation into pirate attack incident

The Sierra Leone navy wants to have a joint investigation into the hijacking of a fishing vessel which was intercepted in neighboring Liberia, a senior official has said.

Seventeen (17) Sierra Leoneans, along with six fellow Chinese crew members, were rescued by the Liberian Coast Guard earlier this week, after it overpowered the group of pirates who forcefully boarded the vessel on Sierra Leonean waters and fled with it towards Liberia.

The vessel, F/V Shenghai-2, was attacked on Saturday, July 22 and it was intercepted by the Liberian Coast Guard on Monday, 24 July.

The Liberian Ministry of National Defense said two of what it suspected to be eight pirates were captured in the operation.

Sierra Leone’s Navy Chief, Commodore Philip Juana, said his office was consulting with the Ministry of Defence on the right course of action, adding that they would want a joint investigation with Liberian authorities on the matter with the goal of putting an end to piracy and other criminal activities at sea in the sub region.

“There is urgent need to institute joint investigation on the arrested pirates and the incident as a whole in collaboration with the arresting country and agency,” Commodore Juana told ManoReporters, noting that such an investigation can be done preferably in Sierra Leone, in which case the pirates can be transferred to the country.

“We are looking at how to curb the menace in the region,” he stressed.

The Liberian Coast Guard is reported to have cleared the crew and vessel for return to Sierra Leone. And Mr Juana said under such a circumstance, it is only fitting that the investigation is conducted in Sierra Leone if the crew returns.

“Alternatively, the joint investigation team can travel to Liberia and collaboratively conduct the investigation with the suspect pirates,” he added. 

Piracy has become rampant in West Africa, which forms part of the area known as the Gulf of Guinea, which is highly susceptible to the activities of international criminal gangs dealing in all sorts of crimes like smuggling, drug and human trafficking.

Although much focus hasn’t been on countries like Sierra Leone, officials say it has been dealing with its own problems with such gangs.

According to the Sierra Leone Navy, the attack on the Shenghai-2 is the second such incident in the month of July alone, pointing to the need for increased vigilance and cooperation among Gulf of Guinea nations to combat piracy.

On 5^th July, pirates attacked a vessel and shot at the Captain, said Juana. The Navy Chief added that on the day the Shenghai-2 was attacked, another vessel, F/V Aliman, was first attacked and the pirates had valuables removed from it.

While the Liberians say they suspected that eight people were involved in the attack on Shenghai-2, Commodore Juana said information in the possession of the Joint Maritimes Operations Center in Murray Town indicated that at least nine pirates were involved. He stated a list of information they will be requesting from the Liberians as part of their proposal to investigate the incident, among them the exact number and nationalities of the pirates, the number and types of arms they used, and the fate of the small blue boat they used.

The Sierra Leone Navy chief also said they would like to know about the fate of those pirates reported to have escaped and how they escaped, as well as the availability of evidence collected on board the vessel so far.