Pirates seize ship carrying tanks, ammo

This is getting ridiculous! The new anti-piracy strategy seems to be inducing the pirates to die of old age and boredom. Sending ships to "patrol" means nothing to the pirates, arresting them and taking their ladders and boats means nothing to them. Until the nations of the world start putting them in prison for long terms or killing them at sea, nothing will change except that more and more pirates will operate in the Gulf of Aden. Apparently, the governments involved are frightened of bad press if they so much as shoot at a pirate. What is needed is covert action and a complete ban on press coverage in the area; that's the only way we will see anything concrete accomplished.

 

Better yet, send the "Press" in to Somalia in rubber boats to interview the pirates about why they do this. No ransom will be paid because they're just innocent fishermen trying to feed their starving children, just like your headlines will read.
Remember Bill Stewart? I'm sure ABC does, so they'll be back-seat-driving as usual. Telling all how if only they would've been in charge, how things would've turned out perfectly.
Why wait press, nows your big moment. Your 15 minutes awaits

 

I agree the press should be on land while the pirates are blown out of the water. Those poor ARMED "Fishermen". They sure as hell aren't fighting for thier fishing sites. They are out for what they think is easy money and is sure alot easier then real work.

 

Another ship caught in the net.



Official says pirates have hijacked Philippines chemical tanker with 23 crew near Somalia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ A maritime official says pirates have hijacked a Philippines chemical tanker with 23 crew members near Somalia.
Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau says the ship was heading to Asia when it was seized Monday in the Gulf of Aden by pirates armed with automatic weapons and RPGs.
The bureau has issued an urgent warning to ships to take extra measures to deter pirates. No further details were immediately available.
This brought the number of attacks this year in the African waters to 83, with 33 ships hijacked. Choong says 12 remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 200 crew members.
The attack comes despite increased international cooperation to crack down on pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

 

Perhaps we need to be a bit less lenient on armed fishermen. I mean, if fishermen are armed I guess OK, well not really, but we are looking for ladders? Do these fishermen have nets? Bait even? Just because they don't have a ladder, doesn't mean they aren't pirates.

 

Nawww, ask "what their feeings are"

 

They will just explain how they "feel' its justified for them to do what they do .

 

Looks like some of the pirates got tired of being ignored so they released some hostages from the French tug that was taken last month.

Ten hostages seized off Cameroon freed - CNN.com

 

Awww they weren't Somali pirates though.

"A Cameroon militia group took the oil workers hostage on October 31 off the West African nation's coast, and threatened to kill the captives if demands for autonomy talks with the government were not met."

 

And here I was thinking that the main resaon for the Russian ship was "speeding" there to rescue fellow Russians.

Somali Pirates Thwarted by British, Russian Ships, AFP Reports

By Chris Dolmetsch
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Two attempts by Somali pirates to hijack a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden were thwarted by British and Russian warships, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Russian Navy.
The Russian and British frigates, the Neustrashimy and the Cumberland, worked together, using helicopters to fight off the pirates, who used assault rifles to attack the Danish ship, the Powerful, AFP said, citing a statement.
The missile-armed Neustrashimy is escorting several ships through the waters off Somalia, AFP said. The vessel was sent to the region in September after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter with tanks and Russian sailors aboard.

Bloomberg.com: Africa

 

Umm, dare I ask, What is going on with the MV Faina? I thought the pirates were running out of food and water, about a month ago.

 

Looks like it is still being watched by the US Navy. Still "negociating" I guess.The pirates have been busy though trying to hijack some other ships. Looks like they hijacked a Philippine chemical tanker. They also tried to take an Indian ship but was thwarted by Indian Marines in a helicopter.

 

But in Nigeria that is everyday's fare in the Niger delta...

 

Well it seems that the Somali pirates are doing a better job the some "militia" LOL And they are doing it just for the money.

 

Chinese fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates
21:00, November 14, 2008

A Chinese fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons off the coast of Kenya late Thursday night and was being held off the coast of the southern Somalia port city of Kismanyu on Friday.

The 24 crew members on board are "fine," a pirate leader told local radio in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, Friday.

Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Association (SAP) said the pirates hijacked the Chinese fishing boat, named Tanyo No. 8, with 24 crew members on the Kenyan waters probably near Lamu and demanded it sail toward the coastal area off Somalia.

The 24 crew aboard the abducted ship of Tianjin Ocean Fishing Company included 16 Chinese with one from China's Taiwan province, one Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnameses, according to a source with the Chinese Ministry of Transport,

A pirate leader, who did not identify himself, however, claimed that the Chinese vessel was fishing off the Somali territorial waters, adding that the ship and crew "will be put before the law and punished accordingly."

The 24 crew members aboard the abducted ship are "fine", the Somali pirate leader said.

It is the first time pirate activities, which have usually been endemic in northern and northeastern Somali coast, were reported off the southern Somali coast.

Pirates, who claim that they are protecting Somali national resources from illegal fishing and waste dumping, often contact local media to say "that they have captured" ships fishing off the coast of Somalia and to state their demands for ransom.

The pirates holding the Chinese ship said that they will speak about their demands "at a later time."

The attack came hours after a Russian-operated cargo ship off the coast of Somalia escaped pirates who had attacked it with grenade launchers and machine guns, according to Mwangura.

He said the pirates raced toward the ship, the Captain Maslov, in a high-speed boat late Thursday and launched attacks as it headed from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Mombasa, Kenya.

Two alleged pirates were killed during shootings between those aboard the small boat and Cumberland crew members, the statement said.

A third person, a Yemeni national, died later from injuries, despite care from the Cumberland's doctor.

The global maritime body has recorded nearly 90 incidents of piracy or attempted piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast between January and October this year.

Rampant insecurity inside Somalia remains a major obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian supplies.

Chinese fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates - People's Daily Online

 

Oh look!!! The Russians are combatting the pirates! Heres a video,

Russian warship combats Somali pirates
The Russian frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) and the British frigate HMS Cumberland prevented the seizure of the Danish merchant vessel Powerful by Somali pirates. (29 sec./0.88Mb, shows: 517)
www.rian.ru

 

Looks pretty phony to me. The scene of the radar mast is clearly stock footage of a warship's sensors taken in a harbor somewhere; the ship is not moving at all. The rest of the scenes were obviously filmed at different times. and/or places, as the sea state varies quite a bit. This must have been for domestic Russian consumption, they're the only ones who would believe it.

 

Russia? Propaganda ? How can that be?? LOL

 

Yeah, right.

I guess it's only fair that the Russian taxpayer should get something for his money, even if it's only miscellaneous shots of a destroyer and some speedboats. LOL!

 

And yet the frigate has done nothing in regards to the hijacked cargo ship that it was "speeding" to rescue .