Pirates

[MountainDon]

So how about those Somalian pirates? The ship owners are afraid to arm their vessels which I believe simply encourages the pirates to carry on as usual. 

[Windpower]

I don't get it either Don


a couple 50 cal BMG's would stop the problem in short order

Jus Cogens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peremptory_norm

[Squirl]

Arming the vessels is would be ineffective. So that just the leaves the crew.  The problem is the ships are so large, many don't know about the pirates until they are on the ship.  The pirates are towed out into deep waters by larger vessels.  These are small shallow skiffs so that they are not detected by radar. Also some of the pirates have RPG's.  It is just cheaper to pay the ransom than the risk of loss of an entire ship and cargo which can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

[Windpower]

I disagree

After the first few pirate skiffs, as you call them, are sunk with all pirates killed or captured, the profession will become less popular in a hurry. Also the atrition of a few hundred dead pirates will slow down the operations a bit not to mention the loss of their ships.

With current technology such as night vision and high resolution RADAR there is no excuse for the 'skiffs' to be not detected well in advance of them getting close enough to the ship to board it.   

My other question here is: how do the 'pirates' cash in their ransoms -- could there be some bank fraud here ?

[glenn kangiser]

You guys are looking at treating the symptoms, not the disease.  We have interest in the mineral rich areas here in Africa.

I look for events to be encouraged covertly that will allow the US military to come to this area with the approval or at least apathetic agreement of the sheeple so that once again big US based corporations and our politicians may make some final pillaging of the treasury and massive profits from the mineral rich area before the total fall of our government.

Once again the US meat breeders will provide sons and daughters for the protection of corporate interests.

http://uruknet.info/?p=m51825&hd=&size=1&l=e

SOMALIA IS located in the strategically crucial Horn of Africa on the eastern edge of the continent--adjacent to the Red Sea, Suez Canal and key commercial waterways. Somalia and neighboring Sudan have been targeted for oil exploration by U.S. companies, but China, India and other countries have also gotten their foot in the door with development contracts.

Competition past and present is behind the U.S. government's concern with Somalia. The U.S. has variously engaged in direct intervention (as in the infamous "Black Hawk Down" Marine invasion of 1992-3), backed different warlord factions and supported proxy armies (such as Ethiopia).

Actually, the history of Western intervention in Somalia and the Horn of Africa extends back throughout the 20th century, during which time colonial powers and the Cold War superpowers waged proxy battles in constantly shifting alliances and conflicts. Somalia's civil wars--like those in Darfur and southern Sudan--must be seen as a direct result of the U.S. and the former USSR arming different sides with billions of dollars, all while famines raged.

[glenn kangiser]

I just remembered my covert ops army buddy telling me how big an F-up the Blackhawk down incident was.

I didn't see the movie - likely highly glamorized, and he was talking about the actual incident and what he knew about it.

[Windpower]

Infowars

talking about it now

[Sassy]

Just read an article on the Somali Pirate situation from their side  http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/you-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates/

February 4, 2009
You are being lied to about pirates

by Johann Hari

Somali pirate "ships" are small, but the ships they seize are huge. They held one gigantic tanker for months until ransom was paid.
Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the U.S. to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth.

But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menaces of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell - and some justice on their side.

In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its 9 million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the U.N. envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury - you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no cleanup, no compensation and no prevention."

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by over-exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas.

The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

This is the context in which the men we are calling "pirates" have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia - and it's not hard to see why.

[rwanders]

Shipowners are reluctant to arm crews made up of men/women from all over the world with no weapons training or experience who could not be relied on. Also, most of these ships are running on autopilot and have virtually no actual watch on deck. Convoys protected by warships may be .the only short term solution

[glenn kangiser]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/10/antonybarnett.theobserver

We've been playing there for a while.

[MountainDon]

If there has been organized dumping of waste off the Somali coast, I wonder why these concerned pirates haven't hijacked/raided those ships. Ditto on the question of foreign fishing vessels raping the Somali fishery. They are adept at capturing ships. They could capture, ransom and bring this to world attention.

Or, Maybe they do hijack the larger, possibly more valuable ships because of their concern for their environment. Then why don't they make one condition of the release of said captured ships be the broad publication of the dumping? No they just ask for millions of dollars.

I also wonder if there is dumping there, why? Why there? There are many square miles of ocean further away from shores where dumping could be performed. Plenty of area on the west side of Africa where shipping is less dense.

It seems that these pirates have only one goal and that is to live well off the ransom money. Anyway you look at that it is illegal.

[Sassy]

There's probably lots of illegal things going on that we aren't made privy too... 

[MountainDon]

Navy Rescues Captain, 3 Pirates Killed (AP)

Go Navy!! 

MOMBASA, Kenya (April 12) - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, U.S. officials said.

Capt. Richard Phillips' crew, who said they escaped after he offered himself to the pirates as a hostage, erupted in cheers abroad their ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya, waving an American flag and firing a flare in celebration.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said Phillips was resting comfortably on a U.S. warship after receiving a medical exam.

The Navy said Phillips was freed at 7:19 p.m. local time. He was taken aboard the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Bainbridge and then flown to the San Diego-based USS Boxer for the medial exam, 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said.

Christensen said Phillips was now "resting comfortably." The USS Boxer was in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Christensen said.

The U.S. did not say if Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was receiving medical care because he had been injured or if he was being treated for exposure after his ordeal.

U.S. officials said a pirate who had been involved in negotiations to free Phillips but who was not on the lifeboat during the rescue was in military custody. FBI spokesman John Miller said that would change as the situation became "more of a criminal issue than a military issue."

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said prosecutors were looking at "evidence and other issues" to determine whether to bring a case in the United States.

Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart said in a news release that the U.S. government informed the company around 1:30 p.m. EDT Sunday that Phillips had been rescued. Reinhart said the company called Phillips' wife, Andrea, to tell her the news.

The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment.

When Phillips' crew heard the news aboard their ship in the port of Mombasa, they placed an American flag over the rail of the top of the Maersk Alabama and whistled and pumped their fists in the air. Crew fired a bright red flare into the sky from the ship.

"We made it!" said crewman ATM Reza, pumping his fist in the air.

"He managed to be in a 120-degree oven for days, it's amazing," said another of about a dozen crew members who came out to talk to reporters. He said the crew found out the captain was released because one of the sailors had been talking to his wife on the phone.

Capt. Joseph Murphy, the father of second-in-command Shane Murphy, thanked Phillips for his bravery.

"Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday. I have made it clear throughout this terrible ordeal that my son and our family will forever be indebted to Capt. Phillips for his bravery," Murphy said. "If not for his incredible personal sacrifice, this kidnapping and act of terror could have turned out much worse."

In the written statement, Murphy said both his family and Phillips' "can now celebrate a joyous Easter together."

Terry Aiken, 66, who lives across the street from the Phillips house, fought back tears as he reacted to the news.

"I'm very, very happy," Aiken said. "I can't be happier for him and his family."

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

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. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked.

Three U.S. warships were within easy reach of the lifeboat on Saturday. 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.

Maersk Line said before news of the rescue broke that "the U.S. Navy had sight contact" of Phillips — 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 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.

[John Raabe]

What a story...

Here is an update including a pic of the Captain (right) who appears to be in pretty good shape: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123953580718311447.html

[MountainDon]

Those Seal Snipers are Good!

[bayview]

   We have foreign ships docking in American harbors everyday.  I don't think it would be a good idea to have armed cargo ships docking at our piers.

   A ship flying the American flag, to me, is like being on American soil.  Invading our ships is an act of war . . .   A swift military action should be used to remedy these situations. 

[NM_Shooter]

The pirates vow to retaliate?  http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090413/Piracy/

How about leaving US ships alone, and we won't kill your thugs?

I'd like to know more of the details.  The shots were taken in the dark... The real challenge is that the little bitty lifeboat was probably bobbing up and down and back and forth.... unless the seas were perfectly calm.  Even a 600 yd shot with a .308 has over a 1 second flight time.  Things can change a lot over one second if the seas are moving. 

I suspect that the seals were not on one of the big ships, but were probably on a smaller vessel much closer.  Either hidden in the dark near the lifeboat, or perhaps under the guise of transferring supplies to the pirates.  I'd like to know how they got the pirates and the captain outside the lifeboat in the dark.  I'm even more impressed with the negotiating than the shooting! 

In an armchair quarterback fashion, I bet they let the pirates get hungry / thirsty for a couple of days.  Hold off supplies to get them anxious for them.  Then say they received approval to deliver some supplies... want them now?  Yeah, we know it's dark.  We'll have lots of lights on the delivery boat so you can see no shenanigans.  But here's the deal... we want to see the captain on the deck to know that he is not hurt.  We want to take pictures of him standing and breathing or the deal is off.  Put seals in the water with guns real close.. hide them in the glare of the spotlights.  You'd have to have them there anyway for rescue purposes, in case one of the pirates puts a bullet into the captain and he goes into the water.  No way was this a long shot, but I bet the navy will never admit to it.  Maybe a 200 yd shot... but my money is still on seals in the water doing the real work. 

I would bet we'll never know the nature of all the details, and I guess I would prefer not to know if it compromises tactics. 

 

[Windpower]

It was described as a "brief but intense fire fight" on one account that I can no longer find--The Times of India I think

It will no doubt be kept secret -- so they can use it next time

I agree the seals were probably surrounding the life boat while the decoy boat was lit up like a Christmas tree

I think I would have flashed the life boat with a search light to blind the pirates just before the attack 

[NM_Shooter]

Looks like they claim 25 yard shots.  I can believe that...

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20090413/Piracy.Single.Shot.Takedowns/

[Squirl]

My understanding was they had the other boat on a tow line while they negotiated with one of the pirates.

[pagan]

Not very remarkable, truthfully. I know hunters who can take down deer running laterally in dense woods at fifty yards.

[NM_Shooter]

Not very remarkable, truthfully. I know hunters who can take down deer running laterally in dense woods at fifty yards.

Yikes... a running animal in dense woods is an unethical shot. 

I would agree that a 25 yard shot is not much of a challenge for an average shooter.  Unless of course it is in the dark, the surface you are standing on is bobbing up and down 4 to 6 feet, the target is bobbing up and down 6 feet, there's a helicopter washing down on you and the target has a gun held directly on a hostage in very close proximity.  Oh... and you can't actually break the shot when it you want.  You are waiting for a signal to fire in sync with two others.

I'm very respectful of the composure and ability required to make that sort of shot.   

[Squirl]

I didn't know about the Helicopter.  But was it 3 shooters coordinated or can one shooter take out 3 people fast enough?

[StinkerBell]

I have never tried Pilates.

[pagan]

NM,

Good shots, to be sure, but to make this sound like a handful of people on the planet are capable of pulling this off is silly. Remember, these men are highly trained and I would not be surprised if they practiced making water shots for several hours at a time in the days prior to being deployed.