All-action man
Date published: 17 November 2010
Oldham Commando leads pirate mission
A ROYAL Marine Commando from Oldham led a boarding party that blew up the boat and weapons of Somali pirates.
Cpl Martin Murray was involved in the drama on the same weekend retired British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler, from Kent, were released by Somali pirates after a ransom of £620,000 ended their year of captivity.
The 28-year-old former Breeze Hill School pupil led his crew in intercepting an ammunition-laden pirate boat and destroying kit used to hijack ships. He has spoken of his pride at tackling piracy in the Indian Ocean to make the seas safer.
Cpl Murray was on duty with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship Fort Victoria when they scrambled their fast boats to tackle the threat.
He said: “In this part of the world there is always a chance that you’re going to encounter pirate vessels. This one was a few miles from the ship.”
As commander of the Marines’ Fleet Protection Troop, a highly-trained unit drawn from Marines based in Faslane, Scotland, Cpl Murray led the exchange with the pirate ship.
He added: “As we approached, we were ready for any exchange of fire. Fortunately, they didn’t offer any resistance. They put their hands up and we were able to come alongside and carry out a search, during which we found ammunition.”
The pirates admitted to having thrown their weapons overboard as the Marines approached, and claimed to have been at sea for 45 days.
They had lost engine power, had no food left and were using their boarding ladder as a makeshift sail.
The rest of the piracy-related kit was confiscated and the pirates were later released to the Somali coast. In recent months, NATO-commanded UK forces have been fired upon while stationed in the same location.
Captain Rob Dorey, Commanding Officer of the Fort Victoria, said: “The combined actions of all onboard have saved merchant ships from being pirated and made the area just a little safer.
RFA Fort Victoria is part of the NATO counter-piracy mission in the region, Operation Ocean Shield.
It helps to escort shipping and protect merchant traffic.
