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Royal Navy Ship Watched Kidnapping

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Tab
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Royal Navy Ship Watched Kidnapping

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Navy crew 'watched couple's kidnap'
The crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch a British couple being kidnapped by pirates, it was revealed.




Paul and Rachel Chandler are being held by pirates
The crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch a British couple being kidnapped by pirates, it was revealed.

Military officials insisted that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment tanker Wave Knight, carrying 75 merchant seamen and 25 Royal Navy sailors, could not have acted without endangering the lives of Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife, Rachel, 55.

The couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were seized in the early hours of October 23 when armed Somali pirates boarded their yacht, the Lynn Rival, as it sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.

They were forced to sail towards Somalia before being moved onto a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which was previously taken by the pirates.

It emerged that the Wave Knight, which was also carrying a helicopter, was within range as the events unfolded.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Every effort was made by the Royal Navy and the international maritime fleet to locate the Lynn Rival. We did everything we could possibly do without further endangering the lives of Paul and Rachel Chandler. We do not comment on operational detail but RFA Wave Knight did very well under the circumstances."

Sources said the Chandlers would have been transferred to the mother ship, the Kota Wajar, in a very crowded open boat alongside armed pirates, placing them in a "very dangerous situation". They added the RFA vessel's first responsibility was to ensure the Chandlers' lives were not put at further risk.

Initial reports had suggested the couple's yacht was found empty in open waters. The couple are since thought to have been brought ashore.

Within days of their capture, pirates issued a seven million-dollar (£4.2 million) ransom demand. After seeing the ransom report, the Foreign Office said the Government would not make any "substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom".

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are monitoring the situation closely. Foreign Office staff are in close contact with the family and offering support."
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Sir Hawkwood
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Post by Sir Hawkwood »

Pretty shocking to hear about this.

I think the navy needs to show more teeth or at least tried to box them in to prevent them getting away.
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