For the first time ever has Danish TV been granted
access to a NATO warship out on live operations. For three months will the 150 men and women on board
Absalon fight pirates in the waters outside Somalia. For the Danish soldiers it will be 3 months of
action, hardships and unique solidarity. And we are along at the frontline
when Denmark goes pirate hunting. One of the motherships we have been
tracking has left its mooring spot. Now he's turning. This is Big Brother.
Let go! If you see an RPG pointed towards us,
that's a primary threat, - - we shoot in self defense. Fire! Pirate Hunt After a short stay at the Seychelles the Danish
warship Absalon is again ready to hunt pirates. Christmas and New Year's Eve is closing and
the crew has now been out for two months. At attention! -Good morning!
-Good morning! What the crew on Absalon doesn't know is that soon
awaits the missions biggest, most violent pirate action. Fire! He's aiming at the hostages. After one and a half days sailing from the Seychelles
Absalon is now in the mission area outside Somalia's coast. For the next month they will patrol back
and forth infront of the pirate camp Grisby. The mission is to gather intelligence on the pirates
activtites and ensure they don't capture new ships. The NATO forces do not have mandate to go on
land and capture the pirates in their coast camps. It's first when the pirates go to sea
that Absalon can take action. This area is very large.
Almost as large as the Indian Ocean. And you can almost compare it to
the entire European continent - - having only 15-20 police cars that go
25 miles per hour to watch the entire area. So therefore we have to concentrate on the
areas where we know the pirates are, - - or potentially can be, and keep them in
so they can't get out to the merchant ships. The most important tool Captain Carsten has to
gather information on the pirates is the helicopter Brumbass. 44 year old Kub is pilot. He's been pirate hunting at Somalias coast four times
and is therefore one of Absalons most experienced crew. Primarily we go out searching,
looking for suspected pirates. See if they are at sea or
about to hijack a ship. If they are in the camps on land
or in the ship they have captured. We typically go out and
gather information. Take pictures
that we give back to the ship. Today Kub and three others on the helicopter
team will fly in over the notorious pirate camp Grisby. The goal is to find out if the pirates
are preparing for a new raid. But a flight so close to the pirates
camp is not without danger. If the helicopter comes too close to the agressive
pirates they could risk being shot down. The weapon types we have
seen onboard is AK, RPG - - and possibly AKM, light machine gun. So the threat is of course RPG/Light
machine guns and their unpredictability. They do their supply runs between 14-18
every day so we should be able to see them today. There are four people
on the mission flight. Besides the pilot Kub
sits observer Kir. Behind them sits a sharpshooter from the
Frogman corps who takes pictures of the pirates - - and next to him a HMG gunner
who protects the helicopter. The information the helicopter gathers
can be used when the pirates go out to sea. The sharpshooters pictures tell how many
pirates are onboard and what weapons they have. There's a risk the pirates
open fire on the helicopter. And therefore the Frogmen
are on stand by in their boat. If the helicopter is shot down. The dilemma is that we have a delivery
to make, finding the information. And sometimes we have to get so close
to the ship to get the information - - that we actually expose ourselves to danger. So it is always weighed against
how close can we get to the ship - - without being set in danger,
and that's one of the big dilemmas. To always consider the threat towards us. Do they intend to shoot us down
when they point their weapons towards us - - or are they just threatening us? We're cirka 100 meters from the coast,
and we're cirka 50 meters high. Pirate camp Grisby is a major hub
for the pirates when they head out to sea. Here they gather food, fuel and men
before heading out on raids. In front of the camp lies the pirates
latest catch anchored up. 7 hijacked ships. We'll see if there are
any SUV's up there. There's SUV's up by the camp. There are some people here.
They are coming streaming from the camp. The many SUV's is a sign of
increased activity in the pirate camp. And it could indicate a pirate raid is imminent. Absalon must therefore stand ready. Not every hijacked ship has a ransom on it. The smaller arab ships have no wealthy
shipping companies on their back. The pirates capture them nonetheless to use the
ships as motherships and the crew as slaves. When we fly over the ship and see
there are hostages onboard - - then we can think a bit about
those being held onboard. And just observe - - and hope that the information we pass on
can help them in the long run. He was possibly standing with
an RPG down on Jelbut 40. One of them is Jelbut 40,
an Iranian fishing boat. NATO forces have kept an eye on it since
it was hijacked two months ago - - because there's a big risk the pirates
will use it for new hijackings. And it will soon turn out that Jelbut 40 will become
a serious challenge for the Danish crew on Absalon. The next ship the crew will take pictures of
is the hijacked tanker Albedo. The most dangerous bandits
are probably on Albedo. The pirates are know to be especially
well armed on this ship - - and extra care is therefore
exerted by the helicopter. Let's not get too close
to those down there. What we can see, - - is that a Jelbut is tied
to the stern of Albedo. So we presume they are some
hardcore pirates - - from the Jelbut that has gone
onboard and are now helping guard it. That's pirates who go out
and attack ships. So they're much more agressive than
the guard soldiers on the other ships. It's observer Kir who gives the order to
fire if the helicopter is threathened. It's his task to have
overview of the situation. I think if we are going to defend ourselves from
someone shooting at us of course we fire back. But if there are someone pointing at us,
we will try to fly away from them. Suddenly Kir spots one of the pirates on the
hijacked ship Albedo with a machine gun. Looks like one of them has a weapon,
AK-47, quite clearly. When someone points a gun towards you,
that's a threat and you need to leave. He's got a gun up. He's got a gun up
the guy to the left, yellow shirt. -On the big ship?
-Yes. Starboard bridge.
Brandishing a weapon. I've turned off the safety. More coming out.
4 on the bridge. -Is he standing with a weapon?
-Yes. The sharpshooters pictures shows
the pirate is sitting with an RPG. An RPG can shoot down the helicopter so Kir
orders the helicopter away as fast as possible. -Yeah, KUB. Take us away.
-Yeah, away, KUB. When we fly past the ships
they perceive us as a threat. Clear to see, they quickly find their
weapons and start waving them. So they perceive us as a threat but we
stay outside their effective weapon range. So we have minimized that risk
towards us from their weapons. The flight has been completed and the
helicopter crew can take a well earned break. The helicopter has gathered
important information and pictures - - that the captain onboard Absalon can
share with the rest of the NATO forces. Everything that could possibly be a mothership
we take a look at and investigate. Last time we were here we found Jelbut 40 - - and could determine it was being prepared
for a raid. It has our complete focus. Until the next flight the crew on Absalon must settle
with keeping an eye on the pirates with the radar. It's Christmas Day. And even if Absalon is in the middle of the
mission area outside Somalia's coast - - the Danish crew will not miss out on
Christmas food and presents. And helicopter observer Kir
has something to look forward to. Greetings from his
family in Denmark. I've received a letter from my children. And a present from my wife and two children. And before I left my oldest daughter told me I would be
receiving a watch, so I'm exited to see if it's true. And it wasn't. So that was a diversion manouver. Incredible what you can
get small children to do. It's a gourmet stay. At a bath hotel actually. That's super nice. Lots of letters, one from ... ...my children, or at least
my oldest girl. And it says here:
"Dear father, we miss you" - - "love you, Merry Christmas, -Astrid". My oldest daughter, she's four,
no wait, yes. Four years, soon five. ♪ Now it's Christmas Again ♪ ♪ Now it's Christmas Again ♪ ♪ And Christmas lasts all the way to Easter ♪ ♪ No that's not true because
inbetween comes the fasting ♪ The clock is 06:00 in the morning and
everything is calm and quiet on Absalon. The majority of the crew is currently
sleeping in their bunks. But an alarm breaks the silence. Stay seated. The shift has spotted a
suspicious ship on the radar. HMG to its post.
HMG to its post. The gunner to the HMG and the sharpshooter from the
frogman corps is asked to get to their posts straight away. We don't exclude any possibility - - so therefore we have some preparedness
ready with sniper and heavy machine gun. When we came hectic activity started onboard. It seems they threw something
overboard the starbord side. Absalon and the other warships have large
problems with the pirates throwing - - their weapons and ladders overboard making it
hard to prove they are engaged in pirate activity. It's towing a Skiff and there's two Skiff's on the deck,
and we can se a number of outboard engines. Zoom in on the outboard engines on the deck. It's exactly the small Skiff's the pirates use
to attack the merchant ships with. Carsten is therefore especially alert on this Dhow. We don't know exactly how many are onboard but
certainly enough to make a boarding party. So we can't exclude them being pirates. The signs are enough for Carsten to react,
Absalon is going to action. One of the motherships we have been
tracking has left its mooring spot. He's turning. -This is Big Brother. Initiate.
-Copy. Let go! Pirate Hunt Absalon has spotted a suspicious
boat that's now close to the warship. The gunners have prepared on the top deck. And the boarding team has just received
orders to initiate the action. Boarding team contacting the bridge. Let's go. On the deck the boarding team is ready
to sail over to the suspicious Dhow. We're going in on the port side. Move to starbord. But the waves are high. And it could have decisive
concerns for the action. I don't think it's of any use sending
the RIB's out against the sea. Send the RIB's so they go with the sea. Free! Watch out! The boarding team is lowered at
the opposite side of Absalon - - so that the Dhow can't see they
are about to initiate an action. We plan to close in to 200-250 yards - - so we can provide some serious cover. When we close in on the Dhow we keep the
boarding team on the opposite side of the Dhow. So we go in with highest possible security. But before the boarding team can sail to
the Dhow Absalon tries to contact the crew. Is the interpreter ready for LRAD? The Somalian interpreter tries to contact
the Dhow with Absalon's LRAD - - which acts like a giant megaphone. We would like to conduct a visit. But there's no reaction. Little Brother to Big Brother. -They aren't reacting to our hails on the LRAD.
-Stand ready. Copy. Normally harmless fishers would
respond to the warships hails. The lack of response reinforces the
notion that the crew could be pirate. Of course if it turns out to be pirates
then the scenario is completely different - - and we'll freeze the situation and bring the
frogman corps and military police out. It makes you think more over the situation. Little Brother this is Big Brother.
You're free to engage. Copy that over. It's now it counts. In order to avoid being in the line of fire
between Absalon and the Dhow - The boarding team approaches
from behind in a large curve. Little Brother to Big Brother we're going in. People are moving out to the bow. They are listening to the LRAD and
moving to the front of the ship now. Incoming wave. The boarding team is now very
close to the suspicious Dhow. In addition to the possibilty of
having to fight potential pirates - - they must also fight against the high waves, Will be fun climbing up this. -Think they'll get up?
-I doubt it. I don't think they can. We're boarding the Skiff. Watch out for each other boys. Bit tricky getting onboard with
the high waves rolling the boat. Have to take small steps. First man onboard. Get them to report "low threat"
as soon as possible. Boarding to Bo. Boarding. Feel free to report "low threat" if applicable. Yes it's low threat. Everyone's Jemenites except
one that is Somalian. Copy that. It's seemingly just a heavily
crewed fishing vessel. As soon as it is verified they are not pirates
the task changes completely. The fishers Dhow is exactly of the kind
the pirates hijack and use as mothership. This is therefore a great chance to gather information
that could be of great use for the NATO forces. Can we take pictures to compare it later
with the pirate boat? It's the same kind. It's alright for them,
they are scared of pirates. Tell him that's one of our tasks,
to protect them out here. We're here among other to also watch out for them,
not just the European merchant traffic. Let's start the search, we have
permission to be onboard and search it. The poor fishers have good reason to be scared. The pirates can't extract money from them since
they don't have a shipping company covering them. Instead the pirates take their boat
and use the fishers as slaves. Often nobody knows they are captured
because there are no ransoms. We're almost done, just a few
more pictures of the stern. Then we would like to thank you
for letting us come onboard. When Absalon goes to action towards what turns out
to be a innocent fishing vessel it changes to a WHAM-action. Send the WHAM package. It's short for Winning Hearts And Minds. It's supposed to show NATO's human
face to the locals in the area. Building on this they deliver a so called WHAM package
containing fresh water and some practicalities. Thanks to everyone onboard. Good luck with your fishing,
hope you are blessed with a good catch. We're leaving. Now its getting back into the boat
without being injured. Wait. Yes get down! Jump now! Let go! They were 24. Very tight
conditions onboard. The entire front of the boat is a cargo hold. They live in the cabin
and behind it. They live in hammocks above the stern. Good work. -Ready!
-Up with it. On Absalon Carsten greets the boarding team. Did it go well? It went very well. Same boat
and same greeting as last time. Turns out it was just an ordinary fishing boat. But soon Absalon will engage in battle
with pirates who pose as fishermen. Now back to work again. It's New Years Day and Absalon
starts the day by firing the canon. Next in Command and pilot Kub
watches from the signal deck. Now I'm going to find my phone and call my
kids and say Happy New Year. Before the entire network is overloaded
with New Year greetings. Does the pirates
also fire rockets? I don't actually know. We'll see this afternoon but I don't think
they celebrate New Year out here. Well I miss you and I
will call you again soon. -My dad have a good New Year.
-Ahh thank you very much, I will. -I will. -Yeah.
-Ok bye kid. Love you. Also this year has Danish soldiers
been posted in the worlds hot spots. Everywhere they go they earn great respect
and recognition for the work they do. Come Kir! You're my wingman. -Want to taste my fathers sigarillo?
-Want to taste my fathers cigar? Frogman corps to Brumbass. Absalon's helicopter has for the last month
been flying over the pirate camp Grisby. To keep an eye on the pirates
not going to sea. The warship has paid special attentiont to Jelbut 40
since it has received supplies from land. -How far out to it?
-Nine miles. One of the motherships we have been keeping
an eye on, a Dhow with Iranian hostages - - has after many days left it's mooring
spot and is headed south. The pirates have held the hostages for two months and
they are most likely heading out to capture a merchant ship. Keep eight miles from them and
we will shadow them tonight. We meet in the officers
mess at 11:30. Then we'll discuss this again. It's Absalons task to ensure the pirates
don't sail out and hijack new merchant ships. Therefore Carsten and his crew need to prepare
for the chance that they may need to fire on the pirates - - to get them to surrender. We're going to confirm his movements. And we have agreed as further south he gets - - we will intercept and pull in behind Jelbut 40
and deny him the chance to head back to coast. We will most likely have a helo-recon
at first light in the morning. Down to take a look at Jelbut 40. And get the intel we can get. You may also have to fire
warning shots from the helicopter. In order to make a point straight away. There are several risks
to keep an eye on. The pirates most likely chew on Khat. The drug Khat makes the
pirates overly confident - - increasing the chances they may
shoot the hostages during the action. A situation the Captain
wants to avoid completely. There is also the Khat factor.
Which we don't really have during the morning. So the question is do we strike at
first light if we have the chance? Then the Khat factor is gone. The question is how much Khat they chew. We have intel that they at least
are being encouraged to - - chew Khat over the day
so they get brave. So we have to presume they eat
it at some point during the day. The Captain places Absalon at a strategic
distance so the pirates can't see the warship. Meanhwile Absalon can shadow the boat
on radar and follow it the entire night. By dawn Carsten initiates the
first part of the plan. The helicopter crew is called to a briefing
before they are sent to take pictures of Jelbut 40. The most dangerous enemy action is if
he decides to fire on you or Absalon. The hostages will be prominently displayed,
and the pirates can aim at the hostages. Biggest threat of course being one of them
opening fire with his weapon. -Again, highly unpredictable.
-What if they fire on us? Safest for you is to break off. Yes. -But then there's self-defense.
-Yes of course. If they start to seriously
threathen you out there. And stand in free firing positions with RPG's
and pointing them up towards you. Then you have to fire warning shots,
or if that's not an option shoot in self-defense. In order to be detected as late as possible the helicopter
Brumbass approaches the mothership with the sun at its back. When we get to the Jelbut we see
there are some people onboard. There are no weapons
immediately on the Jelbut. So there's no immediate threat to see. Firstly I think it is because they
don't want to escalate things, - - and secondly they don't want
to display their weapons because - - often they try to give the
illusion that they are fishers, - - and that means not waving
weapons around pointing at us. The sharpshooters pictures
also show something interresting. The pirates have hid their two Skiffs
under large amounts of fishing nets. And when we see they have
ladders and Skiffs onboard. This tells us clearly they
are out to hijack ships. Suddenly the action takes
a completely new direction. He's turning. Interresting. He's turned 180 degrees.
Let's view him on the FLIR. FLIR - Infrared Yeah almost 180 degrees. The pirates are turning in order
to reach the coast again And Absalon must react fast. If you see an RPG being directed
towards us that's a primary threat- - we shoot in self-defense. Short bursts.
Fire! Pirate Hunt Absalon is hunting a pirate mothership
that has left the coast. The helicopter Brumbass is in the air to take
pictures when the situation takes a new turn. The pirates try to head for the coast
where Absalon can't touch them. -Wonder if they will turn again.
-That would be exciting to watch. If we sent Brumbass away. The Captain must act fast if the pirates
are not to reach the coast again. -If we should we let them come in again?
-I don't think so. -Me neither. The more time the mothership sails
towards the coast the more time... ...the more dedicated they get
that they want to reach the coast - - because they can save the mothership. And for the pirates they have invested
quite the amount of money in - - fuel, skiffs, engines, weapons, food. -Now's our chance.
-Should we take down the helicopter? The Captain decides that Absalon will place itself between
the pirates and the coast to prevent them from reaching land. We go to the highest alert when
we have taken in the helicopter. It's not fair that they just sail out
and take sailors as hostages. They're also on a boat just doing work. So stopping that is something that
gives meaning, to me being out here. Our suspicions were confirmed
when we saw the Skiffs onboard. That was the proof, then back to Absalon
and say that that was good enough. We have an obvious target and then
the ship will take action from there on. While the strategy is being planned in the operations room
the crew waits for orders from the Captain. They have to prepare for the worst. You should maybe be out now. Ana is a forehauler in the RIB. It's she who will transport the hostages and
pirates onboard if the mission is a success. Looking forward to see
how this turns out. It's good to know that what you do
means something to other people. I think it's a privilege to have this kind of work. When you get a moment,
you just have to enoy the silence, - - enjoy that you have a moment
before going to deal with it all again. First mission brief then
get SMI in the RIB? So it's them first, then we
sail after and cover them. DJ is group leader for the Military Police. During the action he watches with binoculars
and reports to the sharpshooter what happens. There's a Dhow that we have
investigated that we are after now, - - which is now heading towards the coast. What we do is we prepare and then just wait. Just kit up and wait for orders from above. When Absalon goes into action the crew puts
on their battle uniforms and man their positions. DJ has settled with himself what
the live missions could result in. The worst at stake for me personally
is that I could lose my life. It's not something you think about every day but
there's been situations where it has been close. You have to be aware
of it before going. DJ participated in an action last year
similar to the one they are facing now. That time the Danish warship was in a firefight
with the pirates, 4 pirates were killed and 10 were injured. This isn't a cowboy film. When you shoot at people they fall apart. It's not like in the movies. There was one that almost
got his leg shot off. Lung shots, fragments.
Everything possible. Carsten faces a dilemma. He wants to stop the pirates but Absalons presence
could have fatal consequences for the hostages. And it's him as Captain who
makes the final descision. There's no answer.
The answer you can give - - about living with it is the descision
you make in that moment. There's no one else to ask. You have to personally take responsibility.
And if you can't do that you shouldn't act. There are hostages onboard Jelbut 40. If we can deterime heading in - - that there is a visual and clear threat
against them, before we get close - - then we have to pull away.
That's the rules. When we have folded the helicopter
and lowered the SMI-RIB - - then there will be a mission brief
in the operations room. Before we go to high alert and start
our approach on Jelbut 40 - - as a Jelbut approach,
shooter setup. Orientation over.
More to come. From 500 yards we will start reacting - - if we see an RPG being pointed
towards us we shoot in self-defense. It's primarily the snipers
who act in self-defense here. When we close it is still primarliy the snipers but
if you see an RPG towards us that's a primary threat - - we shoot in self-defense.
We will give the Jelbut instructions - - to lay down their arms and follow our instructions,
we're the good guys and they are the bad guys. If we are closer and we
can't get away in time. And a rifle is being lifted towards the hostages,
we will shoot in self-defense of the hostages - - in accordance with FKO's directives
about inhumane and degrading treatment. That's the basis for shooting. We should still be able to look ourself
in the mirrors when coming home. That we don't let humans get slaughtered.
Let's man our posts. High alert. Jelbut approach, shooter setup. Clearly this is for real. So no smoking on deck. Ana also participated in the action last year
where several pirates were killed and wounded. I think it could go as bad as the Jelbut
last year with the number of wounded - - but it could also end very good
with so many hostages being freed. So we'll see since this situation
is different from the other. It's the fifth time Ana is pirate
hunting on the Danish warship. Even if she is one of the most experienced crewmembers
on Absalon it was an overwhelming view that hit her - - when she transported the
wounded pirates into the RIB. The one that came down was... ...he was shot completely up below his waist.
Shot into pieces. You of course make some thoughts when you stand
there in that moment since you are still human. What do you think when someone stands
on the Dhow and says - - "here comes one without legs". Then you have to think what are you doing. But it's just human to take a second and think,
alright this is what we are going to do. Nobody is Superman, we all have
feelings, we are all humans. So you have to think to yourself. Because how does a person without legs
look like coming down to you? Everyone on the ship is to have
flak vests and helmets on. Several rooms on Absalon are not armoured
if the pirates fire a grenade away. 22 year old Helene is gunner
on the heavy machine gun. I think it's a nice feeling when you feel the recoil in
the shoulders when you're sending something that way. I'm probably gun happy.
I and the boys think it's really cool. They know I will pull the trigger when it counts. Before they go she receives
her last instructions on post. As stated, we sail around it first and
when we come in from starboard side - - then we will be ready to fire warning
shots at 50 yards. -We'll start at 50. Then they will fucking get it. It's the first time Helene is going into real combat
and that puts the thoughts in motion. If I got an order to fire on a pirate I think - - I would have no immediate
problem pulling the trigger. Because that's what we're trained for.
We've practically been brainwashed us standing here. Jelbut 40 is now coming into view in the distance. The sharpshooter is ready and follow
the boat through his scope. The hostages sit on starboard and port side. This time Absalons crew are in no
doubt they are dealing with pirates. The Captain wants to stop them so the pirates don't
reach out at sea and hijack new merchant ships. Carsten therefore goes in offensively from the start. As soon as Absalon is within range the gunners
fire warning shots to get the pirates to give up. Six, five, four, three, two, one. Open fire. Short bursts.
Fire! You have permission to open fire. If I'm shot, I will be killed by
something I hold the most of. If they were amateurs they would have given up
straight away, but those are rather cool. He's aiming on them!
