Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

Turns out the "mother ship" wasn't really a mother ship and was a Thai fishing trawler that the pirates had attacked just hours earlier and were still in the process of trying to take over.

That would explain why The Economist kept listing it as an 'alleged' pirate ship.

[classicman]

lol @ the Griffster

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by glatt

Turns out the "mother ship" wasn't really a mother ship and was a Thai fishing trawler that the pirates had attacked just hours earlier and were still in the process of trying to take over. The fishermen on that trawler were resisting the pirates in one part of the trawler when the Indian Navy came up and blew them out of the water. Over a dozen Thai fishermen are missing because of that Indian Naval action. One survived the Navy attack and drifted at sea for days and has just told his tale.

I guess this is why fighting pirates is so hard. The collateral damage is hard to avoid.

Yea, looks like everyone is a potential victim of the propaganda machine. Even you fell for it...

[xoxoxoBruce]

Five Indian sailors who were among the crew of a Japanese-owned cargo ship hijacked by pirates and held for two months before a ransom was paid said Monday their captivity was "total desperation."
"I wish that no one else ever has to go through this -- (hijackers) are not human but rather animals," said Alister Fernandes, one of the sailors, at a news conference in Mumbai, India.

Kenya's foreign minister said last week that more than $150 million has been paid to pirates around the Horn of Africa over the past 12 months, and the money is encouraging pirates to continue their attacks.

"That is why they are becoming more and more audacious in their activities," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said.

link

Got to stop paying them.

[ZenGum]

Bit of an "oops" there, but still, they must have taken out a few pirates with it.

Here's a map of the pirate attacks, courtesy of the BBC:

[Undertoad]

Read a thing yesterday that pointed out that most civilized countries have an interest in seeing the piracy continue.

The pirates are enemies of the very Islamic government of Somalia. It's recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism and not interested in rule of law. Western business interests are slightly affected but not very much. The best thing that could happen is if the Somalian government would just go away, but to have this boil on its ass is not a bad thing.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

The pirates are enemies of the very Islamic government of Somalia. ... The best thing that could happen is if the Somalian government would just go away, but to have this boil on its ass is not a bad thing.

From The Economist of 20 Nov 2008:

In Somalia in 2006, however, the Bush administration tried something different: war by proxy. It gave a green light for Ethiopia to invade Somalia. The plan was for Ethiopia to squash an Islamist movement and reinstate a Somali government that had lost control of most of its territory.

Two years on, the plan has backfired. Abdullahi Ahmed, Somalia’s increasingly notional president, admitted on November 15th that a variety of Islamist insurgents once again dominate most of the country, leaving only two cities, Mogadishu and Baidoa, in the hands of his increasingly notional government. Neither Ethiopia nor the African Union ever sent enough soldiers to impose order. Worse, the strongest of the insurgent groups, the Shabab, is even more radical than the Islamic Courts movement which the Americans and Ethiopians originally took on. It is suspected of being linked by money to the pirates (who hand over a slice of the ransom in return for protection) and by ideology to al-Qaeda.

A dumb American president advocated a solution without even understannding the problem. Current government is protecting those pirates? The current government supported by the American proxy - Ethiopia - is as powerless as the plan that put them there. Another George Jr trophy.

How many American flagged carriers are at risk? Maybe the Liberian Navy should be provide a solution?

[lookout123]

I nominate you to go deal with them tw. I think you can really do it. and if not, eh, whatever.

[tw]

Originally Posted by lookout123

I nominate you to go deal with them tw.

Don't worry. You repeatedly supported and voted for the president that god talks to. So there is no problem. Obviously piracy will not exist as soon as this president talks to god. Clearly the president and god have simply been too busy. But don't worry. Be happy. God is on our side. George Jr said so.

[lookout123]

Good come back Twat. Just remember, I may be drunk but in the morning I'll be sober but you'll still be you.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by tw

Don't worry. You repeatedly supported and voted for the president that god talks to. So there is no problem. Obviously piracy will not exist as soon as this president talks to god. Clearly the president and god have simply been too busy. But don't worry. Be happy. God is on our side. George Jr said so.

This Saturday's South Carolina primary could make or break Barack Obama's presidential aspirations. The Illinois Senator was interviewed by phone on Monday by Beliefnet politics editor Dan Gilgoff....

..."The prayer that I tell myself every night is a fairly simple one: I ask in the name of Jesus Christ that my sins are forgiven, that my family is protected and that I am an instrument of God's will. I'm constantly trying to align myself to what I think he calls on me to do. And sometimes you hear it strongly and sometimes that voice is more muted.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/0...i_n_82737.html

[TheMercenary]

WTF? The guys were the security..

Three British ship security guards escaped kidnapping yesterday by jumping into the sea as Somali pirates hijacked a Singaporean tanker in the Gulf of Aden – the latest in a soaring spate of attacks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...f-Somalia.html

[ZenGum]

Go easy, Merc, they're just doing what corporate execs would do in the same situation.

Actually, the execs would have a velvet-lined life-boat on standby.

[TheMercenary]

They bailed.

[classicman]

French warship captures 19 Somali pirates

PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A French warship captured 19 Somali pirates on Sunday when it came to the rescue of two cargo ships threatened in the Gulf of Aden, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

The French naval vessel "Jean de Vienne" was on patrol off the Somali coast as part of a European Union anti-piracy force when it came to the rescue of a Croatian cargo vessel and a Panamanian ship crossing the Gulf of Aden.

The 19 Somali pirates, armed and equipped with equipment to board the vessels, were captured and have been handed over to Somali authorities, the statement said.

The incident came three days after another French vessel captured eight Somali pirates who attacked a Panamanian registered vessel.

Piracy off Somalia, one of the world's busiest shipping areas, has soared over the past year, earning the pirates millions of dollars of ransom payments and pushing up maritime insurance rates.

The European Union set up an anti-piracy naval task force under British command last month involving warships and aircraft from several nations in the first such naval operation of its kind.

Its a start anyway....