Captain rescued - but…

[CraigV]

Looks like the Navy was able to rescue the captain being held hostage by pirates, but as I’m watching the story on CNN, something odd occurs to me; The pictures being showed don’t match the story being told. 4 captors, 3 killed - more than 4 pirates are pictured, all alive. Also, the boat shown originally was large, red in color & covered. The boat shown in the pictures does not fit that description.

Good news at any rate. As for the one pirate taken alive, I have one word - chum.

 

[tcarcio]

Maybe they were showing file footage because they didn't have the up to date video.

 

[dkane360]

from CNN's website:

" Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged ship Wednesday morning about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, according to Maersk. The pirates retreated to the lifeboat with Phillips, leaving the Alabama with its crew.

Phillips tried to escape by diving off the 28-foot, covered lifeboat Thursday night, but one of the pirates dove into the Indian Ocean to retrieve him."

he was rescued from the lifeboat, not the cargo ship.

heres the link http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/12/somalia.pirates/index.html

 

[highfigh]

Looks like the Navy was able to rescue the captain being held hostage by pirates, but as I’m watching the story on CNN, something odd occurs to me; The pictures being showed don’t match the story being told. 4 captors, 3 killed - more than 4 pirates are pictured, all alive. Also, the boat shown originally was large, red in color & covered. The boat shown in the pictures does not fit that description.

Good news at any rate. As for the one pirate taken alive, I have one word - chum.

We won't toss him in the water because he was wounded and acted as a negotiator but he will be treated as a criminal. The US Navy has been in that area for quite a while doing this kind of thing and when they recovered a ship for North Korea, they disarmed the pirates and handed them over to the crew of the ship, who promptly tied them up and tossed them overboard.

From the AP story,

"Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding the Greek ship anchored in the Somali town of Gaan, said: "Every country will be treated the way it treats us. In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," he told The Associated Press. "We will retaliate (for) the killings of our men."

Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl, that: "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)."

"Now they became our number one enemy," Habeb said of U.S. forces."

They take people hostage and extort millions of dollars from countries that are only doing business and in the case of the Maersk Alabama, bringing aid to several countries, and they now want to kill people because someone stood up to them? Bullshyte! ALl ships in that area need to be well armed, prepared to fight them off and grind them into a fine paste.

 

[mike c]

this is one conflict the US military/navy should help in ...
-practice for navy seals (for the current ships still in pirates hands)
-naval exercises for battleships and subs (go red october on the pirate ships)
-practice air strikes
-practice the spy satellites and drones and stuff

 

[highfigh]

this is one conflict the US military/navy should help in ...
-practice for navy seals (for the current ships still in pirates hands)
-naval exercises for battleships and subs (go red october on the pirate ships)
-practice air strikes
-practice the spy satellites and drones and stuff

That would be great but our rules of engagement dictate that we can't just go in and do this kind of thing. The World community isn't doing much about it, they'd call for our heads on a platter if we did, even if we were wildly successful. We're already over there doing more than just about any other country, regardless of the French saying that the US had nothing to do with them getting one ship back (and losing a hostage in the process). Somalia is a craphole, their government is completely impotent and the pirates are in control. Remember, that's where 'Blackhawk Down' happened and they danced on the corpses of our service men.

Once again, dirtbags fighting over a turd pile control a country that has no apparent natural resources, no way to generate revenue and no way to enforce any kind of laws, yet they seem proud to say that their area was the birthplace of civilization. I wouldn't be surprised to see that piracy is the bulk of the GNP of Somalia. Hijacking aid ships and either selling the food and supplies to buy weapons or letting them go to waste is hardly worthy of anyone's concern over the formalities of "Well, you can't just go in and kill the pirates". To be honest, I see very little good coming from most of that continent but if someone wants to post some examples, I'd like to see them.

 

[nibhaz]

I think it would be interesting to put some decoy ships to sea. A few merchant ships faking distress or mechanical problems with armed forces onboard. When the pirates attack, waste them. After a several failed attempts, the pirates may begin to think twice about attacking merchant vessels. Of course, there may be legal implications for this type of activity…which is ironic because we’re dealing with pirates.

 

[CraigV]

What I don’t get is…why didn’t they just sink the life raft? Faced with either drowning or letting your weapon sink to the bottom would have these pirates crying to be rescued in a hurry.

Of course then we just com in & rescue our guy, and leave the pirates to fend for themselves (while chumming the water).

 

[itschris]

What I find so ridiculous is that it's basically due to insurance costs among other silly stuff that prevents these boats from protecting themselves. I mean c'mon... you have this large ocean freighter being taken over by 4 guys with 4 guns in a motorboat. The fact they can even get close the boat is just silly let alone scale it, board it, and take it over.

I'm wondering if the insurance companies will start rethinking the policy because I imagine it cost a lot more to have these boats hijacked then to allow arms indivdiuals on the boat. I mean if you just trained a couple of guys and let them carry a couple of AR's, it's likely none of this would happen or it would be reduced quite a bit.

 

[Rickster71]

I'm wondering if the insurance companies will start rethinking the policy because I imagine it cost a lot more to have these boats hijacked then to allow arms indivdiuals on the boat.

Insurance Companies...The Tail that Wags the Dog.

 

[MatthewB.]

I work with a guy who also has a second job as a sniper for the Phoenix Police force. He called what would happen last week and after it did, he told me the basic scenario that happened and how it did happen. Trust me that fourth guy was wounded on purpose and could've been taken out at anytime. Glad to hear they rescued him, but loved what the Somalian pirates said afterwards, that they would enact revenge. Um okay, I guess they like to be lined up and killed on purpose. Kudos to the sharp shooters who managed to take out the three pirates on que. Those guys had no idea what happened, one second they are alive, the next lights out. Don't F with the US.

 

[shenaniganz]

What I find so ridiculous is that it's basically due to insurance costs among other silly stuff that prevents these boats from protecting themselves. I mean c'mon... you have this large ocean freighter being taken over by 4 guys with 4 guns in a motorboat. The fact they can even get close the boat is just silly let alone scale it, board it, and take it over.

I'm wondering if the insurance companies will start rethinking the policy because I imagine it cost a lot more to have these boats hijacked then to allow arms indivdiuals on the boat. I mean if you just trained a couple of guys and let them carry a couple of AR's, it's likely none of this would happen or it would be reduced quite a bit.

Maybe If I'm lucky the Air Force will turn "pirate protection" into a special duty assingment. I'd rather float around on a giant boat for a few months then sit in the middle of the desert....

 

[Tomorrow]

Insurance Companies...The Tail that Wags the Dog.

That's so true, Rick. But in this case, I think it's the maritime unions that prevents armed deckhands. I haven't checked out the specifics but I believe that to be the case with the Seafarers International Union of North America. There may even be contractual obligations placed on the use of the ships by the manufacturers (the Maersk are Danish), but of this I'm also not certain.

I do know that they can't just arm the crew of cargo vessels. (Too bad, too.)

 

[Davemcc]

That's so true, Rick. But in this case, I think it's the maritime unions that prevents armed deckhands. I haven't checked out the specifics but I believe that to be the case with the Seafarers International Union of North America. There may even be contractual obligations placed on the use of the ships by the manufacturers (the Maersk are Danish), but of this I'm also not certain.

I do know that they can't just arm the crew of cargo vessels. (Too bad, too.)

I've always been of the understanding that commercial ships aren't armed due to maritime law and international treaties. I think it would be wise to arm the commercial ships for self defense.

You know that feeling that sailors must have sailing into a known pirate area knowing they're unarmed and almost defenseless, that's what if feels like to be Canadian...all the time. We know that the criminals have access to guns but the law abiding citizens don't.

 

[itschris]

On point Rickster.

Why not just hire a couple of Blackwater guys to ride on your boat? There'a absolutely no reason why anyone in a small motorboat should be able to make contact with such a large vessel. The freightliner has the clear stragetgic and safety superiority in that situation. You could easily snipe from inside the bridge and not even be exposed.

Don't want to kill the guys? Think they're just poor people from a poor country and should be given a break? Fine... with today's rifles... something like a Barret .50bmg for instance, you could easily rip the motor from the boat wih a single shot and disable their craft. Granted, that a more precision exercise, but I bet even a couple of the deckhands with quality AR's could stave off any boarding.

 

[Davemcc]

The mere presence of weapons on cargo and cruise ships should be enough to deter these small time pirates with big ambitions. The fly in the ointment is that it makes it much more dangerous for navy vessels to board ships for UN inspections.

 

[Alex2507]

The mere presence of weapons on cargo and cruise ships should be enough to deter these small time pirates with big ambitions. The fly in the ointment is that it makes it much more dangerous for navy vessels to board ships for UN inspections.

Once again, it's kind of like Canada, only the bad guys get to play with the guns.

 

[Matt34]

Once again, it's kind of like Canada, only the bad guys get to play with the guns.

I think I found a job as a contractor after I retire. Give me a couple months to get proficent with a M24 and include in my kit NVG's and a sidearm and I'll start up my own business.

 

[Tomorrow]

Here is a report on maritime law and the pertinent civilian maritime rules of engagement. The author knows his stuff.

http://homelandsecuritygroup.info/hsgblog/?p=258=1

 

[Alex2507]

I think I found a job as a contractor after I retire. Give me a couple months to get proficent with a M24 and include in my kit NVG's and a sidearm and I'll start up my own business.

Invading Poland?

I had to Google that stuff and am unclear as to what 'contractor' really means. I take it you're not talking about drywalling somebodies basement. My older brother was a US Marine but I wasn't wrapped too tight.

Did you quote me by accident?