Sea Captain Safe!

[freshface]

Unless there's been a significant upgrade in pirate infrastructure, those 'motherships' are merely local dhows. I agree that the should be subject to search and, if resisting, destruction but that doesn't mean that they will shortly dry up and disappear. The coast is full of dhows. Finding the right ones won't be easy and if you sink a few, there are plenty more where those came from.

Actually, there's been a significant upgrade in the pirate infrastructure. Back in the '90s it was fishermen in their skiffs and dhows a few miles from shore. As they became more skilled, they kept some of the ships they captured. As they advanced into using freighters and trawlers, they were able to work farther from the shore. These days, attacks are occurring hundreds of miles off the coast. The mothership will launch two or three speedboats that work in concert to hijack a merchant ship. Unfortunately, international law keeps us from stopping and/or attacking these ships, even when they obviously have weapons and speedboats instead of fishing nets and legitimate cargo, unless they show hostile intent first. The one sunk by the Indian Navy actually thought it could successfully attack a naval vessel.

And RR...These are not a few amateurs. These are poor Somalis hired by the warlords who have been fighting over Somalia for the last fifteen years. The pirates have RPGs, NVGs, and other modern equipment. Somalia has 1,800 miles of coastline. If you really think that destroying a village is going to do anything to solve this problem, you need to stop watching so many John Wayne movies. We don't have knockout gas that works the way that you describe. Believe me when I say that if we did have it, we'd be using it right now. Of course, if you did understand anything about either Africa or Islam, you'd understand that sending naked women and children across the desert would almost certainly lead to some of them dying from exposure. You'd also understand how deeply offensive Muslims worldwide would consider the idea of naked women being turned out of their homes.

Yes, I have been to Africa. Yes, I do have some understanding of the effort and skills required for a coastal attack. No, these pirates are not all operating out of the same village, so destroying one won't have much effect. No, the masterminds behind the pirates are not living in these villages either, so killing the poor Somalis will only make them recruit other poor Somalis. Yes, I'm very well aware that surgical strikes only really exist in Clancy style novels. And yes, I do understand that you are inhabiting a fantasy world. But don't let me stop you.

 

[R. Richard]

Actually, there's been a significant upgrade in the pirate infrastructure. Back in the '90s it was fishermen in their skiffs and dhows a few miles from shore. As they became more skilled, they kept some of the ships they captured. As they advanced into using freighters and trawlers, they were able to work farther from the shore. These days, attacks are occurring hundreds of miles off the coast. The mothership will launch two or three speedboats that work in concert to hijack a merchant ship. Unfortunately, international law keeps us from stopping and/or attacking these ships, even when they obviously have weapons and speedboats instead of fishing nets and legitimate cargo, unless they show hostile intent first. The one sunk by the Indian Navy actually thought it could successfully attack a naval vessel.

If a ship from Somalia attacked an Indian naval vessel, that would have been an act of war, under international law. However, there is no such country as Somalia and thus no act of war. [Somalia is recognized by the UN as a country in de jure. De jure is a legal term meaning imaginary. Let us, just for the sake of argument, imagine that there is a country called Somalia with a capital called Mogadishu (name pulled out of the air.) If there were a country, state called Somalia, then if there were a pirate problem, the US would then send in our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to Mogadishu to talk with the government of Somalia. Hillary hasn't gone to talk with the government of Somalia, because there is no such government and no such state.]

And RR...These are not a few amateurs. These are poor Somalis hired by the warlords who have been fighting over Somalia for the last fifteen years. The pirates have RPGs, NVGs, and other modern equipment. Somalia has 1,800 miles of coastline. If you really think that destroying a village is going to do anything to solve this problem, you need to stop watching so many John Wayne movies. We don't have knockout gas that works the way that you describe. Believe me when I say that if we did have it, we'd be using it right now. Of course, if you did understand anything about either Africa or Islam, you'd understand that sending naked women and children across the desert would almost certainly lead to some of them dying from exposure. You'd also understand how deeply offensive Muslims worldwide would consider the idea of naked women being turned out of their homes.

The poor villagers [there is no Somalia] are hired by warlord types and furnished with modern equipment. However, they are still amateurs and they lack the kind of training that real army and/or navy troops receive.

" if you did understand anything about either Africa or Islam, you'd understand that sending naked women and children across the desert would almost certainly lead to some of them dying from exposure."
I am unaware that an understanding of either Africa and/or Islam has anything whatsoever to do with the effects of sending naked women and/or children across a desert. What I propose is to save said women and children from pirates, clearly a noble aim. If Muslims are offended by the idea of naked women being turned out of their homes, then have the Muslims stop the piracy by their Muslim brothers. Given the recent history of Muslim suicide bombers, there is no way a competent military commander allows Muslims to wander about an area wearing clothing.

If you will Google up 'knockout gas' you will find extensive information on the subject. Yes Virginia, there is knockout gas, the existence of knockout gas is well documented and the use of knockout gas in the kind of situation I described is also well documented. [Note: knockout begins with a 'k', searching on 'nockout' may be your problem.]

Yes, I have been to Africa. Yes, I do have some understanding of the effort and skills required for a coastal attack. No, these pirates are not all operating out of the same village, so destroying one won't have much effect. No, the masterminds behind the pirates are not living in these villages either, so killing the poor Somalis will only make them recruit other poor Somalis. Yes, I'm very well aware that surgical strikes only really exist in Clancy style novels. And yes, I do understand that you are inhabiting a fantasy world. But don't let me stop you.

Of course, the pirates aren't operating out of the same village. However, the type of village destruction I outlined would definitely have an effect on the rest of the villages. Since you obviously have no idea how a married household works let me outline the situation:
Bitch: "Achmet dear, [the asshole's name is actually Hassan and the bitch gonna make him worry that some other pirate gettin' at his pussy] the US forces done raided the village of Turdville, up the way. The US forces then made the bitches walk naked through the fucking desert. If you think I'm gonna do that, think again, mofo. You wanna go a pirating, I gonna walk down to the next village, fully clothed, with the kids. I understand that there's a stud named Achmet down there know how ta take care of a lady. Adios asshole.
Hassan: "Now wait a damn minute, Fat Ima, what I gonna do fo' pussy if you goes trippin' down to Turdburg? I gots to be a pirate, 'cause that where the ducats comes from."
Bitch: "Oh yeah, how much cheddar do Omar got, after the US soldiers done raided his bank account?"
Hassan: "OK, good point. Them there US boys done dee-prived Omar of his pussy and his ducats. Maybe I gots to find another gig."

Of course,surgical strikes only exist in the imagination. My problem is that I be trippin' on a book I done read, be called Raid On Entebbe. Some dudes from an imaginary country called Israel done rescued their citizens in Africa. Of course, it musta been one of them ther Tom Clancy novels. Worse yet, I be hallucinatin' that I read in the newspaper that an imaginary outfit called SEALs done a surgical strike on pirates off the coast of Africa. Yes, the book publishers and the newspapers definitely live in a fantasy world and I'm caught up in the fantasy world. Since I obviously need help and you're obviously concerned, why don't you just contact the book and newpaper publishers and let them know that they live in a fantasy world. TIA.

 

[JagFarlane]

The Dutch get into the act...

 

[trysail]

Liar,
Is there someone who can verify your whereabouts on 24 July?



( Fair Use Excerpt )
Sweden Warns of Baltic Piracy Danger After Hijacking

By Niklas Magnusson

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Swedish shipping companies were told to exercise the same vigilance in the Baltic Sea as they would off the coast of Somalia after the Maltese-flagged freighter Arctic Sea was hijacked off Sweden last month.

The Swedish Shipowners’ Association told its members that while the July 24 hijacking was probably an isolated incident, such events could create an “epidemic effect” by inspiring copycat attacks, Tryggve Ahlman, head of security at the Gothenburg, Sweden-based association, said by telephone today.

“We’ve talked with the companies that are active in these waters,” Ahlman said. “They’ve come to us with questions and it’s only natural that they increase their readiness. The procedures they have in the Gulf of Aden should be observed everywhere.”

Pirates have seized 28 ships in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia so far this year, and 136 piracy events have occurred, according to the U.S. Navy. After the release of the Italian- owned Buccaneer earlier this month, pirates were holding eight ships and at least 163 seamen, according to Ecoterra, an environmental group that monitors Somali piracy.

Sweden has provided warships and soldiers to the European Union’s anti-piracy operation, Atalanta, in the Gulf of Aden.

The Russian navy located the Arctic Sea, operated by Helsinki-based Oy Solchart Management AB, on Aug. 17 near the Cape Verde islands off west Africa, detaining eight suspected hijackers....

More: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a8N2WihNnXsk

 

[R. Richard]

Trysail:
It's not necessary for Liar to document his whereabouts.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), formerly the KGB has eight pirates in custody. The FSB will interrogate the pirates. An FSB interrogation uses techniques like pulling fingernails out with pliers, burning with hot irons, scalding with boiling water, castration, electric shock, thatsort of thing. If standard interrogation techniques don't work, the FSB resorts to torture. The FSB will find out whodunit and why. Then, the FSB will conduct an educational campaign to coinvince other, would be, pirates not to do it. The FSB can be very persuasive.

 

[trysail]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aMLMGNASO_3Q

( Fair Use Excerpt )
Somali Pirates Seize Chinese Bulk Carrier in the Indian Ocean
By Gregory Viscusi

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Somali pirates seized a Chinese bulk carrier in the Indian Ocean, the European Union’s anti-piracy fleet said.

The ship, which hadn’t registered with naval forces in the area, was hijacked 550 nautical miles (1,020 kilometers) northeast of the Seychelles islands and 700 nautical miles east of Somalia, the EU said in a statement without providing the ship’s name or details of its crew and cargo. A maritime patrol plane has been sent to investigate.

Today’s seizure brings to six the number of ships that are being held by the pirates, who operate out of lawless towns on the eastern coast of Somalia. A Singaporean container ship was seized Oct. 15 about 300 nautical miles north of the Seychelles.

Since the end of the monsoon last month, almost all pirate attacks have been in the Indian Ocean, and not in the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Suez Canal.

About 20 warships from the EU, the U.S., Turkey, Russia, India and China concentrated their efforts on protecting the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s most-traveled trade routes and where most attacks have previously occurred.

 

[trysail]

The major media may not report these incidents but most sailors are well aware that the Horn of Africa has to be avoided. This is, of course, a ginormous pain in the posterior for both commercial vessels and circumnavigators.


Yacht Carrying Two Britons Hijacked Off Somali Coast
By Hamsa Omar and Kitty Donaldson

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A search has been launched for a British couple who were hijacked by pirates while traveling on a yacht off the coast of Somalia, a piracy monitoring group said.

The vessel, known as the Lynn Rival, was seized after sending out a distress signal on Oct. 23, Andrew Mwangura, head of the Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, said in a phone interview today from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. The yacht was on its way to Tanzania, he said.

“She lost communication and then the pirates confirmed yesterday they are holding a couple,” Mwangura said. “The pirates’ target is always money and they are typically gentle as long as the people cooperate.”

Global piracy attacks so far this year exceeded the total for 2008 after a surge in incidents off the coast of Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The number of attacks in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast more than tripled to 47, from 12 in the same period a year earlier, the bureau said on Oct. 21.

The British Broadcasting Corp. identified the couple as Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 58 and 55, of Tunbridge Wells in southern England.

The yacht carrying the couple is “missing at sea” and out of contact, a spokesman for Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who declined to be named, said in an interview today from London. The office is “in touch with the family in the U.K. and the Seychelles coastguard,” the spokesman said.

Somali pirate activity for the moment is limited to a 350- kilometer (218-mile) stretch of Indian Ocean coast in the center of the country, including the pirate lairs of Garacad, Hoboyo and Harardheere, says Ecoterra, an environmental group that monitors the region. Somali elders in the north of the country and Islamic militants in the south have suppressed piracy in their areas, Ecoterra says. Somalia has lacked a central government since 1991.

 

[trysail]

"Millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millions_for_defense,_but_not_one_cent_for_tribute

Full article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a.ylKU6sSeIg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pirates Free Spanish Ship, Crew of 36, Zapatero Says
By Emma Ross-Thomas

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- A Spanish trawler and its crew of 36 were released today by pirates who hijacked the vessel off the coast of Somalia last month, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.

“Our sailors are free, they’re going to come home,” Zapatero told reporters in Madrid. The Spanish leader declined to comment when asked whether a ransom had been paid to secure the release of the ship and crew.

The Alakrana tuna trawler was seized on Oct. 2. Efforts to free the ship were complicated by the jailing in Spain of two suspected pirates who were arrested by the Spanish navy as they left the fishing vessel.

International naval patrols in the region have been unable to halt such piracy. On Nov. 16, a Virgin Islands-flagged chemical tanker with a crew of 28 North Koreans, the Theresa VIII, was hijacked in the Somali Basin, and pirates tried to seize a Ukrainian vessel, according to the European Union Naval Force. A Greek-owned cargo ship was seized on Nov. 11.

Hassan Gadaf, who described himself as a spokesman for the men who seized the vessel, said today that the pirates received a $4 million ransom to free the boat and its crew. The Spanish government also agreed to free the two piracy suspects, he said in a phone interview from Haradhere, about 400 kilometers (248 miles) northeast of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Echebastar Fleet SLU, the ship’s owner, today declined to comment on whether a ransom had been paid.

Zapatero said the two suspects were “in the hands of the justice system.” He declined to comment further on the case.

More EU Patrols
European Union governments will consider broadening patrols off the coast of Somalia to target pirates who have begun attacking ships farther south, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said today.

Following the Alakrana incident, Spain changed its regulations to allow private guards to carry weapons that are powerful enough to protect Spanish fishing and cargo ships in dangerous waters such as those off Somalia.

A lack of a central government in Somalia allows pirates to operate out of lawless ports, hijacking ships trawling the region’s rich fishing waters.

Atalanta, the EU’s anti-piracy naval mission, has patrolled Somalia’s coast since December, trying to counter a surge in attacks in waters through which about a 10th of the world’s trade passes. Some 100 merchant ships a day transit the Gulf of Aden, a chokepoint leading to the Suez Canal...

*****​

 

[trysail]

Full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aAlAGUz6n4Xo

( Fair Use Excerpt )

U.S.-Flagged Ship Avoids Being Captured a Second Time
By Paul Richardson

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, which was seized by pirates off Somalia in April, has avoided being captured again after being attacked off the Horn of Africa country, the EU Naval Force Somalia said.

The attack on the ship, owned by A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest container shipper, occurred early yesterday morning, the force said in a statement on its Web site today.

Pirates fired automatic weapons at the container vessel, which responded with fire from an “embarked Vessel Protection Detachment,” the force said. “The crew managed to repel the attack and no casualties were reported,” it said, without providing further details about the crewmembers.

The Alabama became the first U.S.-flagged ship to be hijacked by Somali pirates when it was seized on April 8. The ship’s 19 crewmembers were freed when snipers aboard a U.S. Navy board shot and killed three of the attackers.

Global piracy attacks so far this year exceeded the total for 2008 after a surge in incidents off the cost of Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The number of assaults in the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa nation more than tripled to 47, from 12 in the same period a year earlier, the bureau said on Oct. 21...

 

[trysail]

Full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=ahm3AbkM6eYw

[ Emphasis mine ]
( Fair Use Excerpt )

U.S.-Bound Supertanker Seized by Pirates Off Somalia
By Alaric Nightingale and Gregory Viscusi

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Greek-owned supertanker Maran Centaurus was seized by pirates off Somalia while heading to the U.S., as attackers venture ever farther from shore to hijack merchant ships.

It’s the second time Somali pirates have seized an oil supertanker, with the last incident a year ago leading to a record ransom and an increase in Western naval patrols.

Today’s hijacking is “probably” the farthest from shore by Somali pirates, said Cyrus Mody, a manager at the International Maritime Bureau in London. His organization has yet to verify details of the attack, he said.

The vessel, which can carry 2 million barrels of oil, was taken by Somali pirates in the Somali Basin about 600 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles, the European Union anti- piracy naval force in the region said on its Web site today. The 28-man crew comes from Greece, Philippines, Ukraine, and Romania.

“The range of pirates has increased over that which we would have expected,” Mark Jenkins, an analyst at Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the second-largest shipbroker, said by phone. “It does imply there’s a need for greater vigilance to safeguard against these things.”

Somali pirates last seized an oil tanker in November 2008 when they took the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star and its 2 million barrels of oil. It was released in January 2009 for a ransom that the U.S. Congressional Research Service estimated at $3 million, believed to be largest ransom paid to Somali pirates at that point. Some press reports said pirates received $3.5 million for the February 2009 release of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with Russian tanks and other weapons...

*****​

 

[Handley_Page]

Trysail:
It's not necessary for Liar to document his whereabouts.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), formerly the KGB has eight pirates in custody. The FSB will interrogate the pirates. An FSB interrogation uses techniques like pulling fingernails out with pliers, burning with hot irons, scalding with boiling water, castration, electric shock, thatsort of thing. If standard interrogation techniques don't work, the FSB resorts to torture. The FSB will find out whodunit and why. Then, the FSB will conduct an educational campaign to coinvince other, would be, pirates not to do it. The FSB can be very persuasive.

Have they stopped using chemistry then?. They used to be very good with Scopolamine and later drugs. No need for the pliers, these days.

 

[R. Richard]

Have they stopped using chemistry then?. They used to be very good with Scopolamine and later drugs. No need for the pliers, these days.

They still use the chemistry. However, the drugs sometimes give 'false positives.' That is, the drug addled individual relates events from his dream world, instead of the real world. A good interrogation operator can, so to speak, separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

[trysail]

http://www.imo.org/

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos today expressed concern that adverse weather conditions and other contributing factors may bring about an accident to the supertanker Maran Centaurus – hijacked by pirates on 29 November 2009 with a cargo of 2 million barrels of crude oil – possibly resulting in an environmental catastrophe off the coast of Somalia, where the vessel is currently being held.

The vessel, with a 28-member crew, was some 800 miles from the Seychelles Islands when it was hijacked and then taken to an area off the port of Hobyo in Somalia. Weather conditions are said to be changing for the worse in the area which, coupled with reported unsafe anchorage conditions, has led to concerns that the vessel might be damaged by grounding, leading to its cargo being spilled and resulting in serious ecological damage.

Mr. Mitropoulos is concerned that, while any hijacking incident is to be deplored because of its impact on the seafarers on board, the potential for ecological disaster, in an area of the world that presently lacks the infrastructure, equipment, resources and expertise to cope with it, makes this a particular case.

Accordingly, in a letter to the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Mr. Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, Mr. Mitropoulos has expressed concern that any accident to the ship might, because of the large quantity of oil carried in its tanks, cause serious environmental damage, with repercussions to the nearby fishing grounds and consequent negative economic impact on the livelihood of the population in the area.
___

Briefing 43, 10 December 2009

For further information please contact:
Lee Adamson, Head, Public Information Services on 020 7587 3153 (media@imo.org )
Natasha Brown, External Relations Officer on 020 7587 3274 (media@imo.org ).

Pirate-Held Tanker at ‘Unsafe Anchorage’ Risks Spill
By Alaric Nightingale

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A supertanker seized by Somali pirates is at an “unsafe anchorage” and risks causing an environmental catastrophe as weather deteriorates, the United Nations’ shipping agency said.

An oil spill is becoming more likely because of worsening conditions, the International Maritime Organization said today in a statement on its Web site. The 2 million-barrel carrier Maran Centaurus is anchored off the port of Hobyo after being seized on Nov. 29 while sailing to the U.S. from Kuwait.

Somalia lacks the equipment to deal with an oil spill, which would damage fishing grounds off the East African country’s coast, the agency said.

The East African country has led a global surge in piracy this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Attacks worldwide had surpassed levels for all of 2008 by the end of September, the group, which is part of the International Chamber of Commerce, has said.

The number of attacks in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast more than tripled to 47 in the nine-month period from 12 a year earlier, while incidents in the Gulf of Aden increased to 100 from 51, according to the bureau. A total of 306 attacks had taken place worldwide by Sept. 30, compared with 293 for 2008, its figures show.

The Maran Centaurus, captured about 800 miles of Somalia’s coast, is the second supertanker that pirates from the country have seized in a year. They took the Saudi Arabian carrier Sirius Star in November 2008, eventually securing a $3 million ransom payment for the vessel’s release, according to the U.S Congressional Research Service.

Separately, the U.K.-owned bulk carrier Ariana was released today, more than seven months after it was hijacked, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said. The vessel had a crew of 24 from Ukraine.

 

[R. Richard]

http://www.imo.org/

Pirate-Held Tanker at ‘Unsafe Anchorage’ Risks Spill
By Alaric Nightingale

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A supertanker seized by Somali pirates is at an “unsafe anchorage” and risks causing an environmental catastrophe as weather deteriorates, the United Nations’ shipping agency said.

An oil spill is becoming more likely because of worsening conditions, the International Maritime Organization said today in a statement on its Web site. The 2 million-barrel carrier Maran Centaurus is anchored off the port of Hobyo after being seized on Nov. 29 while sailing to the U.S. from Kuwait.

Somalia lacks the equipment to deal with an oil spill, which would damage fishing grounds off the East African country’s coast, the agency said.

The East African country has led a global surge in piracy this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Attacks worldwide had surpassed levels for all of 2008 by the end of September, the group, which is part of the International Chamber of Commerce, has said.

The number of attacks in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast more than tripled to 47 in the nine-month period from 12 a year earlier, while incidents in the Gulf of Aden increased to 100 from 51, according to the bureau. A total of 306 attacks had taken place worldwide by Sept. 30, compared with 293 for 2008, its figures show.

The Maran Centaurus, captured about 800 miles of Somalia’s coast, is the second supertanker that pirates from the country have seized in a year. They took the Saudi Arabian carrier Sirius Star in November 2008, eventually securing a $3 million ransom payment for the vessel’s release, according to the U.S Congressional Research Service.

Separately, the U.K.-owned bulk carrier Ariana was released today, more than seven months after it was hijacked, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said. The vessel had a crew of 24 from Ukraine.

I would broadcast a radio message to the Somali coast in a number of languages. "The Maran Centaurus is a supertanker, filled with oil. The Maran Centaurus is in danger of spilling its oil. If the Maran Centaurus spills its oil, it will destroy the fishing off the Somali coast, particularly around the port of Hobyo. If the Maran Centaurus spills its oil, the residents of Hobyo will clean up the spill. If the residents of Hobyo don't voluntarily clean up the spill, we will come in and force them to clean up the spill. If you have problems with this message, speak to the pirates. DON'T LET OIL SPILL ON THE SOMALI COAST!"

 

[trysail]

( Fair Use Excerpt )

Somali Pirates Seize First Ship in Gulf of Aden Since July
By Gregory Viscusi

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Somali pirates hijacked a U.K.- flagged chemical tanker and its 26 crew in the Gulf of Aden, the first successful attack on a merchant ship in the heavily patrolled sea channel in almost six months.

The St. James Park had registered its position with the European Union anti-piracy force though it hadn’t joined a group transit, John Harbour, a spokesman for the force, said in a telephone interview. It was seized yesterday due north of the Somali port of Boosaaso, he said.

Some 20 warships from the EU, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other countries patrolling the waters off Somalia have concentrated on the Gulf of Aden, a chokepoint leading to the Suez Canal that’s used by 30,000 ships a year carrying about a 10th of world trade. The last hijacking along a 500-mile security corridor set up by the navies was in July.

While Somali pirates have attacked ships 214 times this year and seized 47, according to the International Maritime Bureau, all successful attacks since the end of the summer monsoon were in the Indian Ocean, where fewer commercial ships pass. The area is too vast for navies to patrol effectively.

Somali pirates now hold nine ships and 237 sailors for ransom, Harbour said.

Bound for Spain
The St. James Park was sailing to Thailand from Spain, and is now believed to be heading for the eastern coast of Somalia, Andrew Mwangura, head of East Africa Seafarers’ Assistance Program, said by phone from the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

Its 26-man crew includes Russians, Filipinos, Bulgarians, Indians, Turks, Ukrainians, a Georgian and a Pole, though no Britons, the EU said. The ship is owned by Philbox Ltd, the EU said. There was no answer at a London telephone number listed under that name at Companies House.

Pirates yesterday hijacked the bulk carrier Navios Apollon as it was sailing in the Indian Ocean, 240 nautical miles east- northeast of the Seychelles, the Greek government said.

The Panama-flagged Navios Apollon, carrying a cargo of fertilizer, has a Greek captain and 18 Filipino crew members; it was sailing from Florida to India, a spokeswoman for the Citizen Protection Ministry in Athens said in a telephone interview.

The 2000-built vessel, with a carrying capacity of 52,073 deadweight tons, belongs to the Angeliki Frangou-led Navios Maritime Partners.

No further details were available, a spokeswoman for Piraeus-based Navios said by telephone.

Pirates have also released two ships this week, the Chinese bulk carrier De Xin Hai and the Singapore-flagged container ship Kota Wajar.

*****​

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aHfYocTxa6Vg

 

[trysail]

Piracy Attacks Rise to Six-Year High, Led by Somalia
By Alistair Holloway

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea rose last year to the highest level in six years and violence intensified, with Somalia accounting for more than half of the attacks, the International Maritime Bureau said.

There were 406 attacks, up from 293 in 2008, the London- based bureau said in an e-mailed statement today. It was the highest number of incidents since 2003 when there were 445 incidents. Somalia accounted for 217 attacks, and Nigeria had at least 28, according to the report. Incidents also rose in the South China Seas.

“Increases in the frequency and level of violence perpetrated against ships at sea and the people who work them is a serious concern,” Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan said in the statement. “Our hope is that this escalating volume of piracy is met with a heightened response from the governments and their agencies best able to reduce and contain these risks to human life and property.”

Of the 406 incidents last year, 153 vessels were boarded, 49 were hijacked, 84 were attempted attacks and 120 ships were fired upon, according to the bureau and its piracy center in Kuala Lumpur. Pirates took 1,052 people hostage and eight crew members were killed, the bureau said.

Warships from the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other countries patrol off Somalia, concentrating on the north of the country on the Gulf of Aden. In the final quarter of 2009, the piracy shifted with more vessels targeted along the east coast of Somalia, the bureau said.

 

[trysail]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aHXpGOXx1P00

Danish Commandos Seize Ship Taken by Somalia Pirates
By Gregory Viscusi

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Danish forces secured a merchant ship that had been seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the first such rescue carried by naval forces since a surge in Somali piracy started two years ago, NATO said.

The 25-man crew of the Antigua & Barbuda-flagged cargo ship MV Ariella is safe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a statement today. The Danish naval commandos are still searching for the pirates, a NATO spokeswoman said.

The MV Ariella sent a warning early today that it had been boarded by armed pirates. It was picked up by nearby Indian warship Tabar, which alerted forces in the area. A French plane operating out of Djibouti as part the European Union’s anti- piracy force sighted pirates on board, while Danish frigate HDMS Absalon sent a helicopter and steamed toward the merchant ship, said John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU fleet.

The Danes made radio contact with the crew, and after being assured they were safely hidden from the pirates, sent special forces to board and seize the ship.

“It’s the first time the international naval forces have found themselves in position to storm a ship after it had been taken,” Harbour said in a telephone interview. “The Ariella had registered its route and was in constant contact with the naval forces. The crew followed recommended procedures to lock themselves away safely.”

The pirates have yet to be found. While the Danish commandos were boarding the Ariella, sailors from the nearby Russian naval ship Neustrashimyy detained suspected pirates aboard a skiff, Harbour said. “We suspect the two incidents are related, but we don’t have confirmation,” he said.

NATO Forces
About 20 warships are in the area combating an upsurge in attacks from pirates operating from Somali’s lawless coast.

The Absalon is part of a four-gunship anti-piracy NATO fleet called Ocean Shield. The EU’s Atalanta mission has five ships plus maritime patrol planes operating out of Djibouti and the Seychelles. The U.S. coalition in Afghanistan operates another anti-pirate fleet, while countries such as India, Russia, China, and Malaysia have sent warships to protect their national merchant fleets.

Somali pirates mounted 217 attacks last year, hijacking 47 ships and taking 867 crew members hostage, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said last month. The EU estimates that Somali pirates last year earned between $60 million and $80 million from ransoms. Pirates are still holding nine ships and about 225 seamen along the coast of Somalia, which hasn’t had a functioning government in two decades.

The Ariella’s crew was made up of 15 Filipinos, seven Ukrainians and one each from Bulgaria, Solovakia and India, the EU said.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

"From the fury of the Northmen
Oh Lord deliver us."

So, the Vikings return to the sea? This could get interesting.

 

[trysail]

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100225/158007395.html

The fight against Somali pirates: tactical victories, strategic losses
18:29 25/02/2010

On February 24, Russia's Pacific Fleet dispatched the large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov, a rescue tugboat and the Pechenga tanker to fight pirates off the Somali coast.

In addition to their crew, there are marines on board the auxiliary vessels and the Marshal Shaposhnikov is carrying two helicopters. The vessels, led by Captain 1st Rank Ildar Akhmerov, constitute the fourth task force that Russia has sent to Africa to ensure navigation safety.

Russian warships joined the fight against Somali pirates in the fall of 2008, when the Neustrashimy frigate was sent to the Gulf of Aden from the Baltic Sea. The frigate, currently keeping those waters safe for navigation, will be replaced by the group led by the Marshal Shaposhnikov.

In total nearly 20 countries, including leading NATO member states, India, China and several Arab countries, have sent warships to Somali coast. Three groups of warships from Russia's Pacific Fleet have convoyed over 100 merchant vessels from 26 countries and repelled more than 20 pirate attacks.

During its second tour of duty in the Gulf of Aden, the Neustrashimy accompanied 15 convoys of over 50 tankers and other merchant vessels from different countries.

But these international efforts have not been entirely effective. Pirates staged 111 attacks, seizing 42 ships and 815 crewmembers off the Somali coast in 2008, and attempted 217 attacks, seizing 47 vessels and 867 crewmembers in 2009. This indicates that the pirates were less successful in 2009, when they seized one vessel per 4 or 5 attacks, than they were the previous year when they seized one vessel per two or three attacks.

However, this is not evidence of a piracy crisis as such, but only of tactical victories won by ship owners and warships. Strategically, the number of pirate attacks is growing and there are no signs of a decline in their activity.

The pirates are acquiring better equipment and boats, modern weapons and satellite communication and navigation systems. They are also improving their tactics. When merchant vessels stopped approaching the shore, the pirates started attacking them on the high seas.

Such attacks cannot succeed unless the pirates have information about the vessels' routes and timetables, which means that they have an extended network of informers. Sea piracy has become a lucrative business with multi-million dollar revenues and only minor expenditures given the dire poverty in Somalia and the low cost of weapons and equipment available on the global market.

Those countries with fleets off the Somali coast are still unable to agree a common strategy on fighting the pirates and on what to do with the detainees.

European legislation does not stipulate the harsh punishment of pirates, and they do not fear a prison term because it offers them an opportunity to settle in Europe after serving their sentence.

The law prohibits European seamen from turning the pirates over to Arab countries, where by law such offenses are punishable by the death penalty. Russian and Asian seamen have more leeway, and usually deliver the detained pirates to Yemen or neighboring Arab countries.

A considerably larger number of pirate boats were sunk in 2009 when NATO warships resorted to extreme measures more often. However, that response is unlikely to reduce the number of pirate attacks.

The only military solution to the problem is a large-scale operation against the pirates' main coastal bases, which requires the use of much larger groups of forces.

But since piracy is a highly lucrative business and there is a long line of hungry Somalians wishing to become pirates, the problem can only be resolved by normalizing the situation in Somalia. The country needs a functioning economy that would dramatically reduce the number of people willing to take up piracy as a career.

This would take several years to accomplish and would cost much more than the current fight against pirates, or even the ransom some countries prefer to pay them for ships seized.

It seems that the international community is leaning toward paying the ransoms, refusing to admit the absurdity of the situation.



The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik)

 

[trysail]

http://en.rian.ru/images/15889/91/158899196.jpg

Russian tanker released from pirates, crew unharmed
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
09:48 06/05/2010

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100506/158893551.html

Russian commandos from the large anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov have released a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a high-ranking official from the maritime coalition forces said on Thursday.

According to the official, Navy forces made the decision to release the Moscow University tanker as they were aware the sailors had taken cover in an area inaccessible to the pirates on board the ship...




http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=aoSoNGNiirZc
Russian Forces Free China-Bound Tanker From Pirates

Russian forces stormed an oil tanker seized by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa, freeing the crew and capturing or killing the marauders.

Marines from the Marshal Shaposhnikov warship commandeered the Moscow University tanker in a predawn raid to end a 20-hour siege, said the owner of the ship, OAO Novorossiysk Sea Shipping Co., or Novoship, on its website today. One pirate was killed and 10, some wounded, were apprehended, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news service said.

The Moscow University was bound for China with about $50 million of crude when it was attacked by armed men in speed boats at about 8 a.m. Moscow time yesterday. The 23-member crew locked themselves in the engine room, preventing the pirates from operating the tanker, Novoship said.

“Thanks to the skillful and timely action of Captain Yury Tulchinsky, the pirates were unable to take a single hostage or command the ship,” Novoship said. “The personnel of the Marshal Shaposhnikov performed their duties in the best traditions of Russian sailors,” Novoship said. “All members of the crew are alive and well.”

*****​

 

[R. Richard]

http://en.rian.ru/images/15889/91/158899196.jpg

Russian tanker released from pirates, crew unharmed

You notice that the release says 'crew unharmed.' The Russian's care about the crew. The Russians don't care about the pirates.

The crew is to be taken to Moscow, for a trail. I have it on good authority that the pirates will actually have a trial. The Russians have brought in TWO kangroos, in case the first kangaroo gets tired. The verdict of the trail will be 'guilty as charged.' The pirates will then be shipped to a Russian detention facility known as a part of what they call a gulag. Conditions in the gulag are kind of harsh.

 

[R. Richard]

The crew is to be taken to Moscow, for a trail. I have it on good authority that the pirates will actually have a trial. The Russians have brought in TWO kangroos, in case the first kangaroo gets tired. The verdict of the trail will be 'guilty as charged.' The pirates will then be shipped to a Russian detention facility known as a part of what they call a gulag. Conditions in the gulag are kind of harsh.

I admit I was dead wrong. It turns out that the pirates were released in small boats with no weapons and no navigational gear. Also, the Russians noted that they were not going to feed pirates.

Quiz for AHers, "What happens when you release a dozen or so pirates, some of them wounded, in small boats with no weapons, no navigational gear, no food, no water and in the open ocean far from any land?"

 

[trysail]

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010/09/09/marines.jpg?t=1284039133&s=3
MC1 David McKee/Navy Visual News Service (NVNS)
File photo of Marines assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (U.S. Navy
photo by Mass Communication Specialist1st Class David McKee/Released)​

Marines Storm Ship Seized By Pirates
September 9, 2010
by JJ Sutherland
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/09/09/129746357/marines-storm-ship-seized-by-pirates

The German-owned vessel Magellan Star was the latest ship to be seized in the Gulf of Aden yesterday. Ships have been attacked there by Somali pirates with increasing frequency over the past two years, the crews and the vessels held for ransom.

Today it turned out differently. About 5 a.m. local time, 24 U.S. Marines boarded the ship. The U.S. Navy says that nine pirates were captured. Not a shot was fired. None of the ships' crew or the Marines were hurt in the assault.

The U.S. has deployed a number of warships to the area to attempt to put a stop to the piracy, but this is the first time that U.S. Marines have boarded a ship in the ongoing security operations off the coast of Africa. A multinational force representing 25 countries has numerous ships involved in the operation.

The Marines are part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and were on the USS Dubuque. Also involved in the operation was the USS Princeton, a guided missile cruiser. They both were called to the scene by a Turkish warship which was the first to respond to the distress call.

_____________________________________________


http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601104&sid=a9TL4yvDmBoU

Marines Storm Ship Seized by Pirates, Rescue Crew
By Alaric Nightingale

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Marines stormed a German-owned ship seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and rescued the crew, the first time an international taskforce set up in 2002 has recaptured a hijacked vessel.

Nine pirates were arrested and none of the crew of the Magellan Star or the 24 Marines were hurt, the U.S. Navy said in a statement on its website today. The raid took place about 85 miles southeast of Mukallah, Yemen, according to Jeremy Olver, a Bahrain-based spokesman for the Combined Maritime Forces, which includes about three dozen ships from at least 10 countries.

About 20 percent of world trade passes through the Gulf of Aden, a transit point for navigating Egypt’s Suez Canal when sailing between Asia and Europe, according to the European Union. The Magellan Star sent a distress call early yesterday and a Turkish frigate attached to the forces was first on the scene, the U.S. Navy said. Two other warships arrived later.

The Marines are from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force aboard USS Dubuque. The operation was the first recapturing of a ship by the combined forces, Olver said.

The Magellan Star, a 133-meter (436-foot) general-cargo ship, was sailing to Vung Tau in Vietnam from Europe, according to AISlive Ltd. ship-tracking data on Bloomberg.

Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and around Somalia fell to 98 in the first half of 2010 from 144 a year earlier as navies strengthened operations in the area, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

Somalia Attacks
Pirate attacks around Somalia rose to a record in 2009, prompting international forces to boost patrols of the region.

Somalia hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Most of southern and central Somalia is under the control of rebel fighters, while the Western-backed government holds only portions of Mogadishu. Surrounding waters are the most pirated in the world, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Earlier, the European Union Naval Force, said the Panega, a Bulgarian-flagged chemical tanker captured by pirates in May, was released today. The ship is crewed by 15 Bulgarians, who are reported to be in good health, the EU Navfor said.

 

[JackLuis]

U.S. Marines stormed a German-owned ship seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and rescued the crew, the first time an international taskforce set up in 2002 has recaptured a hijacked vessel.

Yet the Russians, did it last May, I guess they aren't part of the International Task Force? Or is this just American spin?

Hannity! Check your facts!"

 

[Handley_Page]

I admit I was dead wrong. It turns out that the pirates were released in small boats with no weapons and no navigational gear. Also, the Russians noted that they were not going to feed pirates.

Quiz for AHers, "What happens when you release a dozen or so pirates, some of them wounded, in small boats with no weapons, no navigational gear, no food, no water and in the open ocean far from any land?"

Erm. . . should we really care, apart from the odd prayer to the deity of choice ?
It reminds me of Stormin' Norman: "It is not our place to judge; that is God's job. All we have to do is to arrange that they meet".