Pirates seize ship carrying tanks, ammo

And another French vessel was taken this morning (the Bourbon Sagitta).

October 31st, 2008
Pirates hijack ship off Cameroon, take 10 hostage
Posted: 07:44 AM ET
PARIS, France (CNN) — Pirates attacked a French ship in the waters off
Cameroon on Friday, taking 10 of the 15 crew members hostage, the French
Foreign Ministry and the ship’s owner said.
Six of those captured are French nationals, two are Cameroonians, one is
Tunisian and one is Senegalese, said Bourbon, the shipping company. No one was
injured, it said.
The ship and the staff still on board are now safe, Bourbon said, without
providing details.
The attack happened overnight when armed men in three boats boarded the
Bourbon Sagitta, a tug supply vessel, Bourbon said. The Bourbon Sagitta had
been assisting loading operations of crude oil from a field off the Bakasi
Peninsula, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Cameroon’s capital of Douala,
the company said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called for a crisis center to be
activated in Paris to deal with the situation, the foreign ministry said.
The French consulate in Douala was in contact with the families of the
hostages, the foreign ministry said.
– CNN’s Pierre Meilhan and Niki Cook contributed to this report.

 

Time for the French to take action again. Seems like they are the only ones willing to.

 

As for the Somalian tank ship, let the crew go free. Then sink the ship and voilá, instant coral garden.

 

LOL I was thinking the same thing. Help the environment. I wonder when the French will take action. The pirates must have missed or ignoring the last action against their fellow pirates.

 

Looks like they only want 5 million for the Turkish ship.

In Somalia, pirates live like kings
1 Nov 2008, 0000 hrs IST, Jeffrey Gettleman, NYT News Service

BOOSAASO (SOMALIA): This may be one of the most dangerous towns in Somalia, a place where you can get kidnapped faster than you can wipe the sweat off your brow. But it is also one of the most prosperous.

Money changers walk around with thick wads of hundred dollar]bills. Palatial new houses are rising up next to tin-roofed shanties. Men in jail reminisce, with a twinkle in their eyes, about their days living like kings.

This is the story of Somalia's booming, not-so-underground pirate economy. The country is in chaos, countless children are starving and people are killing one another. But one particular line of work — piracy — seems to be benefiting quite openly from all this lawlessness and desperation. This year, Somali officials say, pirate profits are on track to reach a record $50 million, all of it tax free.

More than 75 vessels have been attacked this year, far more than any other year in recent memory. About a dozen have been set upon in the past month alone. The pirates use fast-moving skiffs to pull alongside their prey and scamper on board with ladders. Once on deck, they hold the crew at gunpoint until a ransom is paid, usually $1m to $2m.

In Somalia, it seems, crime does pay. Actually, it is one of the few industries that does. "All you need is three guys and a little boat, and the next day you're millionaires," said Abdullahi Omar Qawden, an ex-captain in Somalia's long-defunct navy.

Flush with cash, the pirates drive the biggest cars, run many of the town's businesses and throw the best parties. Fatuma Abdul Kadir said she went to a pirate wedding in July that lasted two days, with non-stop dancing and goat meat, and a band flown in from neighbouring Djibouti. "It was wonderful," said Fatuma, 21. "I'm now dating a pirate."

In Somalia, pirates live like kings-Rest of World-World-The Times of India

 

Wow! Imagine that, they can serve goat meat at a wedding. It must be wonderful being a Somalian pirate.

Of course, the kids in Somalia are still starving.

 

Yeah. They are such a benefit and a help to the Somali nation. I wonder how much goes to the local authorities?

 

Egypt announces meeting of Arab countries on Red Sea piracy


19:21|01/ 11/ 2008


CAIRO, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt has announced it will host a meeting of Arab countries on Red Sea piracy in November, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Saturday. "Egypt has sent invitations to Arab countries having access to the Red Sea to take part in a meeting to coordinate efforts and develop means of fighting against the problem of piracy," the ministry said.
The meeting will be held "at a high level" under the common chairmanship of Egypt and Yemen.
Egypt also said that the growing problem of piracy in Somalia was spreading to the Red Sea.
At the beginning of June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution permitting countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters to combat "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."
According to UN data, in 2008 Somali pirates seized about 60 foreign ships for ransom. Their aggregate "revenues" this year could reach $30 million."


RIA Novosti - World - Egypt announces meeting of Arab countries on Red Sea piracy

 

Aha! Problem good as solved!

 

I bet the pirates are quivering in thier boots to hear of this LOL.

 

I wonder how many of those countries have a sizable Navy? Can they spare the ships?

 

Just offhand IIRC none are very big.

 

IIRC Though most Arab states navies have at least some Fast Attack Missile boats or small patrol boats.

 

Which will likely as not be captured by the pirates and turned into more pirate vessels!

 

Looks like high pressure water hoses work !

Danish Navy foils pirates in Somalia

The Associated Press
Published: November 2, 2008




The Danish Navy said Sunday that pirates opened fire on a Danish tanker in a failed attempt to commandeer the ship off Somalia's coast.



The navy said no crew members were wounded in the incident in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday. The pirates disappeared by the time a Danish Navy helicopter arrived.
The navy says the ship's crew took measures, including spraying water from high-pressure hoses, to prevent the pirates from taking it over.

Danish Navy foils pirates in Somalia - International Herald Tribune

 

Hurrah! Shower time!

 

I'm sure the pirates were thankful. Probably the first shower most of them had in months.

 

I bet it was a big surprise to them that a ship's crew would fight back .

 

So it looks like some are now training to fight the pirates.

TLDM INCORPORATE TRAINING TO COMBAT PIRATES DURING OSTEX


Bernama - Tuesday, November 4 SANDAKAN, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) would incorporate combating pirates as part of their training during the Operational Sea Training Exercise East (OSTEX) that starts in Sabah waters today.

Commander Naval Region 2, First Admiral Syed Zahiruddin Putra Syed Osman said such training was incorporated into OSTEX for the first time, especially after the incident which involved the hijacking of two Malaysian vessels by Somalian pirates in August.
"The hijacking incident was an eye-opener and instrumental in the inclusion of training to combat pirates into OSTEX this time. We feel it is very relevant to prevent a recurrence of such incidents," Syed told reporters after launching the OSTEX exercise here today.

http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/bnm/20081103/tts-tldm-ostex-993ba14.html

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of Africa...

From Jim Dunnigan's www.strategypage.com​