Início » Banco de Questões Gratuito Organizado para Concursos » Inglês para Concurso » Preposições(Prepositions) » V – They were ___________ call when the emergency alarm went off.  They were able to act promptly though.

V – They were ___________ call when the emergency alarm went off.  They were able to act promptly though.

                           NATO ships, helicopters hunt down 7 pirates

      NAIROBI, Kenya – NATO warships and helicopters pursued
Somali pirates for seven hours after they attacked a
Norwegian tanker, NATO spokesmen said Sunday, and the high-speed
chase only ended when warning shots were fired at the
pirates’ skiff. Seven pirates attempted to attack the
Norwegian-flagged MV Front Ardenne late Saturday but fled
after crew took evasive maneuvers and alerted warships in
the area, said Portuguese Lt. Cmdr. Alexandre Santos
Fernandes, aboard a warship in the Gulf of Aden, and Cmdr.
Chris Davies, of NATais maritime headquarters in England.

      “How the attack was thwarted is unclear, it appears to
have been the actions of the tanker,” Davies said. Fernandes
said no shots were fired at the tanker.

      Davies said the pirates sailed into the path of the
Canadian warship Winnipeg, which was escorting a World Food
Program delivery ship through the Gulf of Aden. The American
ship USS Halyburton was also in the area and joined the
chase. 

      “There was a lengthy pursuit, over seven hours,” Davies said. The pirates hurled weapons into the dark seas as the
Canadian and U.S. warships closed in. The ships are part of NATais anti-piracy mission.

      “The skiff abandoned the scene and tried to escape to
Somali territory,” Fernandes said. “It was heading toward
Bossaso but we managed to track them. Warning shots have
been made after several attempts to stop the vessel.”

      Both ships deployed helicopters, and naval officers
hailed the pirates over loudspeakers and finally fired
warning shots to stop them, Fernandes said, but not before
the pirates had dumped most of their weapons overboard. NATO
forces boarded the skiff, where they found a rocketpropelled
grenade, and interrogated, disarmed and released
the pirates.

      The pirates cannot be prosecuted under Canadian law
because they did not attack Canadian citizens or interests
and the crime was not committed on Canadian territory.

      “When a ship is part of NATO, the detention of a person
is a matter for the national authorities,” Fernandes said.
“It stops being a NATO issue and starts being a national
issue.” 

      The pirates’ release underscores the difficulties navies
have in fighting rampant piracy off the coast of lawless
Somalia. Most of the time, foreign navies simply disarm and
release the pirates they catch due to legal complications
and logistical difficulties in transporting pirates and
witnesses to court.

      Pirates have attacked more than 80 boats this year alone,
four times the number assaulted in 2003, according to the
Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau. They now
hold at least 18 ships – including a Belgian tanker seized
Saturday with 10 crew aboard – and over 310 crew hostage,
according to an Associated Press count.

                                                                                 (Adapted from: www.ap.org, 04/19/09) 

Choose the option in which the prepositions complete the
sentences with accuracy, respectively: 

I – Stress can make us quite forgetful ________ times.

II – The New York Port Authority operates daily _________ a lot
of pressure.

III – After a storm, the fishing boat was lost __________ sea.

IV – The remains of the wreckage were found _________the shore.

V – They were ___________ call when the emergency
alarm went off.  They were able
to act promptly though.