Somalia's Pirates Strike again

[SF_BHT]

Is there any thing good that has come out of this country? It just never stops but I am glad that the ship captains were able to evade the marauding Somalies...... How is the world going to deal with this? Centcom has posted a picket line but we all know a frigate can not out run a Go Fast.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080908/...omalia_pirates

Mon Sep 8, 4:20 AM ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked three vessels off Somalia's coast but failed to hijack them because of quick action by crew members, a maritime official said Monday.

A Chinese cargo ship, a Singaporean liquefied gas carrier and a Thai bulk carrier managed to thwart the pirates in the Gulf of Aden by increasing speed and taking evasive maneuvers, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau.

Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991, is the world's top piracy hotspot. The latest incidents bring to 44 the number of attacks off its coast this year. Most occurred in the Gulf of Aden, Choong said.

"Early detection allowed all three ships to report to IMB and take quick action to escape," said Choong, who heads the IMB's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. He said the situation was still grave despite increased patrols by warships from a multinational coalition in the area.

The Chinese-owned ship, sailing under the flag of the Caribbean island state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was passing through the gulf Friday when crew noticed a blue tug identified by the IMB as a suspected pirate vessel, Choong said.

The crew raised the alarm after a speed boat from the tug headed toward the ship, he said. Four pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons started firing, but the ship escaped after it increased speed and the crew threw objects at the pirates during the chase, he said.

On Saturday, six pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades attempted to ambush a Singaporean tanker in the gulf, Choong said. The tanker increased speed and changed course, leaving the attacking boat rolling heavily and four pirates fell into the sea, he said.

The pirates later resumed chase and the ship captain contacted the IMB, which sought help from the coalition naval force, he said. The pirates gave up their chase before a coalition warship could reach the scene, he said.

The next day, pirates in two speed boats chased a Thai bulk carrier but it also managed to evade the pirates and headed toward Yemen's coast, Choong said.

Nobody on board the ships was injured in the incidents.

The attacks came after pirates hijacked an Egyptian cargo ship and a French sailboat last Wednesday. Ten vessels have been seized in the region since July 20.

The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, is one of the world's busiest waterways with some 20,000 ships passing through it each year. The surge in pirate attacks has prompted the U.S. Naval Central Command to establish a security corridor in the gulf patrolled by the international coalition of warships.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

Is there any thing good that has come out of this country[/url]

How about Iman?

Richard's $.02

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by Richard

How about Iman?

Richard's $.02

OK I will give you that one. One out of How many?

[SF_BHT]

Here is a map showing some of the most recient activity vic somalia.

http://warandhealth.com/un-somali-pirate-map/

[Richard]

Actually...that's the only one I could think of, too.

Richard

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

Here is a map showing some of the most recient activity vic somalia.

http://warandhealth.com/un-somali-pirate-map/

SF_BHT,

That map was very interesting.....Can you believe this shit coming out of Somalia?

GB TFS

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

SF_BHT,

That map was very interesting.....Can you believe this shit coming out of Somalia?

GB TFS

Yes I can I have been there...... I think of it as the Haiti of Africa.....

[SF_BHT]

Looks Like the French finally found something they want to do. Fight Pirates off the Horn.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/...malia_rescue_6

By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 16, 4:28 PM ET

PARIS - France dispatched elite commandos to free two French hostages under cover of night, then called on other nations to join in taking decisive action against Somali pirates disrupting commerce and aid operations off the East African coast.

French troops wearing night-vision goggles killed one pirate, captured six others and pulled the French Polynesian couple to safety in an overnight operation described by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a triumphant press conference.

He pressed other countries to follow his nation's example and take on the pirates instead of negotiating.

"The world cannot accept this. Today, these are no longer isolated cases but a genuine industry of crime," Sarkozy told reporters in Paris. "This industry casts doubt on a fundamental freedom: that of movement and of international commerce."

Sarkozy said piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia has "literally exploded" this year, with some 54 attacks in the heavily trafficked zone so far this year.

He added that Somali pirates are holding 150 people and at least 15 ships, mainly in Eyl, a Somali area that serves as a base for pirates who have been seizing yachts, freighters and fishing boats.

Sarkozy said France will take action in the U.N. Security Council, where it has a permanent seat, to mobilize the international community against piracy.

In June, the U.N. Security Council — pushed by France and the United States — unanimously adopted a resolution that allows the ships of foreign nations that cooperate with the Somali government to enter their territorial waters "for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

Somalia doesn't have a navy, and its fragile government has sought international help to fight piracy — saying it doesn't have the resources.

France has gone futher than any other nation in taking on the pirates.

In April, helicopter-borne French troops swooped in on Somali pirates, capturing six of them, after the hijackers released dozens of hostages who had been held on a yacht.

"I call on the other countries of the world to assume their responsibilities, as France has done — twice," Sarkozy said.

About 30 French soldiers took part in Monday night's operation, which freed hostages Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne in 10 minutes, Sarkozy said. He added that he had ordered what he called a meticulously planned attack himself.

French military spokesman Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck said the soldiers took the pirates by surprise in the dark. Though the pirates were armed with machine guns and rocket-launchers, none of the French soldiers were hurt, Prazuck said.

On Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed to set up a special unit within the next few days to coordinate warship patrols to protect shipping from pirates.

Several EU nations have sent warships on their own. A U.S. task force also helps maintain security off Somalia and nearby countries. The U.S. military said last year that a Navy ship fired on pirates who overtook a Danish vessel.

Ships from France, Denmark and the Netherlands, and Canada, also have escorted vessels carrying food aid to Somalia for the United Nations since November.

The World Food Program's director for Somalia told The Associated Press that food shipments could be halted within weeks if no country steps in to replace a Canadian frigate that will leave the coast in less than two weeks.

The Delannes were sailing a friend's boat from Australia to France when they were captured Sept. 2 by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

Sarkozy said he ordered the rescue when it became clear that the pirates planned to take the hostages to Eyl, where "their captivity could have lasted months."

Sarkozy said he intends to bring the six pirates captured in the overnight assault — now held on a French frigate — to France. But he left open the possibility that Somalia could keep them if "we are certain that these pirates will be tried, sentenced and will serve out their punishments."

The body of the slain pirate will be handed over to Somali authorities, Sarkozy added.

Sarkozy said a ransom demand was made, but not paid.

[Pete]

Time to bring back Q Boats sailing along the Horn.

Attacking pirate's boat is sunk and any alive get to swim with the sharks.

Works for me.

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by Pete

Time to bring back Q Boats sailing along the Horn.

Attacking pirate's boat is sunk and any alive get to swim with the sharks.

Works for me.

That's an excellent idea.

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

Looks Like the French finally found something they want to do. Fight Pirates off the Horn.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/...malia_rescue_6

Now why were there any pirates that survived the assault?

[kgoerz]

Just calling them Pirates is an insult to all true Pirates thru out time.

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by abc_123

Now why were there any pirates that survived the assault?

They are French and had a debate as to who was going to get shot and who not to shoot......

[SF_BHT]

Just in the Pirates are now threatening to kill any Europeans if the French do not turn over their Buddy's. I think we need to put trackers on them and hand them back. When they get back drop a LGB on them and take them out of play.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-22-voa47.cfm

[SF_BHT]

Well it looks like they hit the Jackpot.

NAIROBI (AFP) - Pirates on Thursday seized a Ukrainian cargo ship off the coast of Somalia, a Kenyan maritime official said, amid reports that it was carrying tanks and spare parts for armoured vehicles.

The hijackers commandeered the Belize-flagged Faina, which was on its way to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, to a yet unknown location, said Andrew Mwngura who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.

"It was sailing from the Baltics and was expected in Mombasa on September 27," he added. "As usual, the pirates were armed on a speedboat when they seized the ship, but we do not know where they have taken it."

Somali pirates often take ships to Eyl, a pirate den in the country's northern breakaway region of Puntland.

"The ship was transporting military hardware, including some 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for armored vehicles," Russia's Interfax news agency said, quoting informed sources.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said: "Reports on the nature of this ship's cargo are being verified," adding that there were 21 people on board: 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and a Latvian.

"The captain reported that three cutter boats with armed people approached the Faina, and then communication was cut off," it said, quoting information provided by the ship's owners.

See this link for the full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080925...g_080925223750