Sea Captain Safe!

[R. Richard]

It's not going to be necessary to pay pirate ransom in at leasst one case. Comment?

Official: US sea captain freed in swift firefight

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said.

One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said.

Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A government official and others in Somali with knowledge of the situation had reported hours earlier that negotiations for Phillips' release had broken down.

The district commissioner of the central Mudug region said talks went on all day Saturday, with clan elders from his area talking by satellite telephone and through a translator with Americans, but collapsed late Saturday night.

"The negotiations between the elders and American officials have broken down. The reason is American officials wanted to arrest the pirates in Puntland and elders refused the arrest of the pirates," said the commissioner, Abdi Aziz Aw Yusuf. He said he organized initial contacts between the elders and the Americans.

Two other Somalis, one involved in the negotiations and another in contact with the pirates, also said the talks collapsed because of the U.S. insistence that the pirates be arrested and brought to justice.

Phillips' crew of 19 American sailors reached safe harbor in Kenya's northeast port of Mombasa on Saturday night under guard of U.S. Navy Seals, exhilarated by their freedom but mourning the absence of Phillips.

Crew members said their ordeal had begun with the Somali pirates hauling themselves up from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below.

As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said.

Phillips was then held hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was closely watched by U.S. warships and a helicopter in an increasingly tense standoff.

Talks to free him began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer.

A statement from Maersk Line, owner of Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, said "the U.S. Navy had sight contact" of Phillips earlier Sunday—apparently when the pirates opened the hatches.

Before Phillips was freed, a pirate who said he was associated with the gang that held Phillips, Ahmed Mohamed Nur, told The Associated Press that the pirates had reported that "helicopters continue to fly over their heads in the daylight and in the night they are under the focus of a spotlight from a warship."

He spoke by satellite phone from Harardhere, a port and pirate stronghold where a fisherman said helicopters flew over the town Sunday morning and a warship was looming on the horizon. The fisherman, Abdi Sheikh Muse, said that could be an indication the lifeboat may be near to shore.

The U.S. Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they can hide him on Somalia's lawless soil and be in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom.

Three U.S. warships were within easy reach of the lifeboat on Saturday. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked.

On Friday, the French navy freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the five hostages was killed.

Early Saturday, the pirates holding Phillips in the lifeboat fired a few shots at a small U.S. Navy vessel that had approached, a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The official said the U.S. sailors did not return fire, the Navy vessel turned away and no one was hurt. He said the vessel had not been attempting a rescue. The pirates are believed armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles.

Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat Friday and tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon at or near him, according to U.S. Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the unfolding operations.

"When I spoke to the crew, they won't consider it done when they board a plane and come home," Maersk President John Reinhart said from Norfolk, Virginia before news of Phillips' rescue. "They won't consider it done until the captain is back, nor will we."

In Phillips' hometown, the Rev. Charles Danielson of the St. Thomas Church said before the news broke that the congregation would continue to pray for Phillips and his family, who are members, and he would encourage "people to find hope in the triumph of good over evil."

Reinhart said he spoke with Phillips' wife, Andrea, who is surrounded by family and two company employees who were sent to support her.

"She's a brave woman," Reinhart said. "And she has one favor to ask: 'Do what you have to do to bring Richard home safely.' That means don't make a mistake, folks. We have to be perfect in our execution."

 

[sr71plt]

How inconvenient and inconsiderate. Our Sore Losers Club members are going to be a little ticked at this, I think.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The anti-piracy campaign in the Caribbean wasn't done in a week and the anti-piracy campaign in the Horn of Africa won't be done in a week, either. But this is the kind of thing that will eventually end it. Give the pirates a choice, surrender or die. Very simple, when you think about it.

 

[oggbashan]

The anti-piracy campaign in the Caribbean wasn't done in a week and the anti-piracy campaign in the Horn of Africa won't be done in a week, either. But this is the kind of thing that will eventually end it. Give the pirates a choice, surrender or die. Very simple, when you think about it.

The ultimate solution is a stable government in Somali that allows people to earn a living.

That will take a major effort. The international community is willing to help but Somalia is a cluster-fuck.

Og

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Absolutely correct. Most of the pirates would go back to fishing if the country was stable enough for them to earn a living.

 

[Dragonlipz]

Much to the chagrin of some on this forum

this drama has come to successful conclusion. There's any number of factors that have played into this success, not the least of which is the management from the top.
Let me parse this out for the SLC who have been wringing their hands and whining about not hearing from the White House: Pay attention whiners and learn, this is a free lesson.

One of the secrets of a successful manager/leader/head honcho is to ensure that you have good people in place to do a job, that those good people understand the goals, that those good people have the resources to accomplish those goals and most importantly: that they are given the opportunity to accomplish those goals.
I use these on a daily basis, sometimes my team takes a path that I might not use but if the resolution is successful, I look good and so do they.
Congratulations to the US Navy, the DoD, the DoS, and our new President on a successful operation.
God Bless America!!!!

 

[jomar]

Yeah, I saw that earlier. I guess we'll have to wait for more details.

 

[3113]

Hooray! This is great news, and I'm glad there was no giving into their blackmail.

I do agree with Og and VM though. We need a better, longer-term solution to this problem.

 

[R. Richard]

The ultimate solution is a stable government in Somali that allows people to earn a living.

That will take a major effort. The international community is willing to help but Somalia is a cluster-fuck.

Og

True, there can be no solution to the Somalia problem until there's a stable government in place. However, there can be no stable government while a fisherman can earn bare survival wages and a pirate can get really rich.

The solution is so obvious that diplomats will never see it. Your SBS and/or SAS people will see part of it, but the ultimate solution will require a three pronged effort.
1) The ships and hostages must be rescued. The key to such a rescue is an SBS/SAS/SEAL attack, augmented by hired soldiers. The military guys need to do the heavy lifting to get the captives out safely. However, there will be instances where the pirates will barricade themselves in a building with hostages. If the military guys have to dig them out, only hired soldiers can use the surviving pirates to send a message as to why the holding of hostages won't work.
2) The pirates must then be left destitute. Their weapons, clothes and bank accounts must be seized. The seizure of pirate bank accounts is going to require a bit of persuasion. Military guys are not pros at persuasion. Hired soldiers can be.
3) The village from which the pirates operate must be rendered unihabitable. The method to do so is familiar to anyone who's familiar with the procedures used by victorious tribes in what's now Saudi Arabia.
4) Once the pirates have been eliminated, then a stable government can be formed and the people can be given a way to make an honest living.

 

[sr71plt]

I think there can be a solution to the Somali pirate problem completely out of the context of Somali stability.

Gather representative naval vessels from nations that have been affected in international waters for a couple of months, use intelligence on what vessels are being used by the pirates, convoy ships through the waters for a while, and use any ID'ed pirate ship as target practice when it ventures into international waters. Use and apply periodically, as needed.

This doesn't require anything at all pertaining to the Somali government.

And, note, I'm not particularly fast on the "kill them" button.

(We quietly did this off the coast of Thailand for a while and it at least cut down on the piracy there--but, of course, we weren't bogged down in major wars elsewhere then. And, yes, it was during the Carter administration.)

 

[kendo1]

The old ' go in guns blazing' strategy, RR, that has worked so often before.

Sometimes a more friendly or helpful approach may work. It tends to be cheaper and more lasting in the long run.

Of course, the first approach keeps the arms industry in the US in employment.

I wonder what the financial cost of building a school or a hospital is in Somalia, compared to one laser guided bomb.
How many people would be gainfully employed in such work?

Just a thought.

 

[Belegon]

The old ' go in guns blazing' strategy, RR, that has worked so often before.

Sometimes a more friendly or helpful approach may work. It tends to be cheaper and more lasting in the long run.

Of course, the first approach keeps the arms industry in the US in employment.

I wonder what the financial cost of building a school or a hospital is in Somalia, compared to one laser guided bomb.
How many people would be gainfully employed in such work?

Just a thought.

It applies elsewhere too... the ultimate solution to the illegal alien problem in the southwestern United States is to raise the standard of living in Mexico and Central America to a point where working illegally in the US is not as good of an option as working where you can be physically with the people you love.

But let's spend billions to build a wall on the border that the coyotes will cut through the moment the Border Patrol is out of sight instead of using the money to support the people... *shakes head*

 

[R. Richard]

I think there can be a solution to the Somali pirate problem completely out of the context of Somali stability.

Gather representative naval vessels from nations that have been affected in international waters for a couple of months, use intelligence on what vessels are being used by the pirates, convoy ships through the waters for a while, and use any ID'ed pirate ship as target practice when it ventures into international waters. Use and apply periodically, as needed.

This doesn't require anything at all pertaining to the Somali government.

And, note, I'm not particularly fast on the "kill them" button.

(We quietly did this off the coast of Thailand for a while and it at least cut down on the piracy there--but, of course, we weren't bogged down in major wars elsewhere then. And, yes, it was during the Carter administration.)

The 'pirate ships' are typically 20 to 30 foot wooden skiffs powered by outboard motors. They have no identification and were previously used as fishing vessels.

 

[R. Richard]

The old ' go in guns blazing' strategy, RR, that has worked so often before.

Sometimes a more friendly or helpful approach may work. It tends to be cheaper and more lasting in the long run.

Of course, the first approach keeps the arms industry in the US in employment.

I wonder what the financial cost of building a school or a hospital is in Somalia, compared to one laser guided bomb.
How many people would be gainfully employed in such work?

Just a thought.

A professional force would go in at night. They would land and isolate the pirate houses [not difficult, by the way.] There would,in all probability be little shooting.

You can't build a school or a hospital in an area where there's no government. The local warlords have to be bribed to allow the construction and then the same warlords simply take over the building.

You're attempting to transfer your environment toSomalia. Your environment doesn't exist in Somalia.

 

[sr71plt]

The 'pirate ships' are typically 20 to 30 foot wooden skiffs powered by outboard motors. They have no identification and were previously used as fishing vessels.

Same same in Thailand. We were able to identify a good many of them and cut the problem down. Still I wouldn't yacht in the Andaman sea today, if I were you. The Thai pirates appear to be more cut throat (literally) than the Somali version have been.

 

[sr71plt]

A professional force would go in at night. They would land and isolate the pirate houses [not difficult, by the way.] There would,in all probability be little shooting.

I wouldn't advocate that. All sorts of ramifications that would cut down on allies participating. I'd do whatever I had to do in international waters.

 

[amicus]

Just a word aside to those that seem to favor a 'living wage' for Somalians and maybe even in your largesse attitude, other poverty stricken Muslim run African nations in distress.

Just precisely that, is what the 38 democratic nation coalition working to improve conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan are attempting to do.

As I note the lack of support among most here, it is false rhetoric to propose such a liberation of Somali.

As our new left wing socialist President advocates a policy of withdrawal and non interference, I take it you jest?

Amicus

 

[kendo1]

A professional force would go in at night. They would land and isolate the pirate houses [not difficult, by the way.] There would,in all probability be little shooting.

You can't build a school or a hospital in an area where there's no government. The local warlords have to be bribed to allow the construction and then the same warlords simply take over the building.

You're attempting to transfer your environment to Somalia. Your environment doesn't exist in Somalia.

I realise that. But, killing people, stooping to their level, does not always work.
Other solutions may be possible is what I am saying. I didn't say it would be easy. I didn't say Somalia is like Scotland or the US.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Really, international waters is where the attacks take place and where national navies have free reign. An alternate would be for the major shipping companies to either hire well-armed guards for the passage around the Horn or to simply arm the merchantmen. That, unfortunately, won't take place. Perhaps there is a good reason beyond commercial lily-liveredness, but what that might be, I don't know. No doubt something in the laws governing the licensing of commercials or some such. After all, everyone knows that pirates went out with the age of sail, didn't they?

 

[R. Richard]

I realise that. But, killing people, stooping to their level, does not always work.
Other solutions may be possible is what I am saying. I didn't say it would be easy. I didn't say Somalia is like Scotland or the US.

Of course, stooping to the pirates level won't work. The pirates are amateurs and need to be dealt with by professionals who operate without controls. The operations need to be on a level far above the amateur pirates. The methods often need to be well below the levels shown bvy the pirates.

We tried talking with the Somalia governement and failed. [Mainly because there is no Somalia government.] We tried to use the local tribal leaders to talk with the pirates and failed. [Mainly because the pirates are big business in the area.] We tried to use diplomacy and failed. Once the diplomacy was abandoned and the operational decisions were placed in the hands of the military guys on the spot, we succeeded tactically. What's needed is a strategic operation to solve THE problem, not a tactical operation to solve A problem. [By the way, there's a man who already solved such a problem. He's revered in the area where the problem existed and unknown elsewhere. He used the basic type of solution I would use.]

 

[Guest]

Just got home.

This is really great news.

 

[S-Des]

An alternate would be for the major shipping companies to either hire well-armed guards for the passage around the Horn or to simply arm the merchantmen. That, unfortunately, won't take place. Perhaps there is a good reason beyond commercial lily-liveredness, but what that might be, I don't know.

There are a number of reasons, including the companies rolling the dice and hoping it's cheaper to occasionally get hit than having a well-armed group of professionals on board each ship. One problem is that the pirates are well-armed as well, and could cause significant (and very expensive) damage to the ships if it turned into a firefight. Another is liability (if you can't prove the pirates were trying to take over the ship and some are wounded or killed, a protracted legal battle could cost more than the ransom). Finally, live firefights could actually be more dangerous than what's been happening to the crew just doing their jobs.

At the point the companies decide the pirates have pushed past these considerations, you'll see swift change to address the problem. Until then, they'll keep rolling the dice because the odds say nothing will happen to their ship.

 

[trysail]

The piracy that occurred in the Malacca Straits a decade ago was fairly easy to solve. The Malacca Straits are one of the world's shipping chokepoints and the nations of South and East Asia were not going to stand for interruption of shipments of vital raw materials and trade. Since that strait narrows to as little as a mile or two, both piracy and solution were fairly straightforward affairs. Don't make the simplistic mistake of confusing that situation with the piracy that has occurred recently in the area adjacent to the Horn of Africa.

The Somali pirates operate in an area of more than 1,000,000 square miles of open ocean. The area is so large ( the size of Texas ) that, in the absence of a dedicated 600-ship Navy, it is next-to-impossible to effectively patrol. With their success in recent years ( and the substantial financial resources from the large ransoms that have been extracted ), the Somali pirates have become better and better armed and equipped. They have become more and more brazen. It was only in January that the pirates took control of a Saud VLCC ( carrying a cargo valued at roughly USD 500,000,000 ) and collected a $3,000,000 ransom.

Merchant vessels and cruising yachtsmen are ( and have been ) well aware of piracy in the area for at least five years. Crews of merchant vessels have been trained in tactics to avoid boarding and capture including, among others, the use of high-pressure water cannon, evasive manuvering and ramming. There is, of course, a limit on what can be expected of civilian merchant vessel crews. They aren't military personnel and shouldn't be expected to behave as such.

There's a reason the Somali piracy hasn't been extinguished so far— it doesn't lend itself to simple and easy solutions.

ETA: That was some goddamn fine-ass shooting. The snipers on the Bainbridge's fantail were said to be 25-30 meters distant— and let's not forget that we're talking lots of motion: seas are rolling both the Bainbridge and the lifeboat.

Nice shooting, b'hoys!

 

[TE999]

Pirates dead, Captain Phillips safe, SEALS do their duty, Obama shows leadership qualities...all in all a satisfactory ending to a tense situation.

No more killing ants...now we need to destroy their nests.

 

[amicus]

Trysail...I would offer another factor in your nicely presented thoughts:

Unions and Maritime rules and regulations long ago destroyed the American Merchant Marine capability.

Most ocean going trading vessel are 'flagged' in other countries and have crews also from third world nations without such stringent policies of Merchant Mariners.

I listened carefully to representatives from shipping companies and maritime agencies around the world. In effect, they employ an utilitarian, cost/benefit equation to the problem of piracy, discounting entirely the human factor of captured Officers and Crews.

While the 'individual' and his personal rights and liberties are considered paramount is some western nations, especially the United States, in most other nations that is not factored in.

Had the Maersk Alabama not been an American flagged vessel/crew, the kidnapping, ransom and hostage taking would have progressed as it has before.

While many will view this as a fault in the free market system, captitalism, because it permits such disregard of human rights, it is really the nation that permits its' citizens to be captured on the High Seas and then bargains for their release.

The 'free' market system is exactly that, free, pertaining to the protection of those enumerated and protected rights of the individual which will not be violated anywhere in the world.

Most likely, there will not be another, 'American Flagged' ship attacked, the pirates will instead concentrate on those nations not willing to go to the lengths the U.S. did in defending the rights of the ship, ships owners and crew.

I also take issue with your presentation of the 'size' of the ocean area concerned. You are astute in such matters, you should realize that it is possible to task satellites and enable unmanned aircraft to patrol that entire area down to the square inch.

And further, our 300 ship Navy is not in the least stressed to provide security around the world and there are 15 other navies involved in the concerted effort to combat piracy.

regards...


Amicus