Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker

[DanaC]

I laughed, Classic:P

[TheMercenary]

An awesome solution...

http://footage.shutterstock.com/video.html?id=28044

[classicman]

I'm not sure how recent this is, it was emailed to me.

This videotape shows Russian Navy commandos on a Somalian pirate ship shortly after the pirates had captured a Russian oil tanker. The EuroUnion navy that patrols these waters would not interfere because they feared there could be casualties.

The soldiers freed their compatriots, moved all the pirates to their own (pirate) ship, search the pirate ship for weapons and explosives, then they left the ship and exploded it with the remaining pirates still aboard.

They sunk the pirates & their ship without any court proceedings, lawyers etc. That is, they used the anti-piracy laws of the 18th and 19th centuries where the captain of the rescuing ship has the right to decide what to do with the pirates. Usually, they were hung.

[xoxoxoBruce]

But but, they were just trying to make a living.

[classicman]

I used a translator to convert some of the comments that were in Russian. Pretty cool.

[ZenGum]

The old piracy laws may have been good when communication was slow and difficult, and transporting prisoners much harder. That doesn't seem to apply here. Hmmmm.

Mind you, some other nations catch pirates, take away their guns, and return them to their boats and set them free, no doubt with a stern warning to let their children starve next time. Nice, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Think of it this way. When was the last time you heard of an Israeli oil tanker being hijacked?

[classicman]

I hear ya, but those pirates certainly won't be hijacking anything on this planet ever again.

[TheDaVinciChode]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Fact is, if allowed free, they WILL get more guns, and they WILL continue to hijack vessels.

There's little you can do, 'cept blow 'em sky-high... until their Government sorts itself out, and fosters a better economy, than the one they currently have... and, no, we shouldn't interfere, we shouldn't help... that's not our job, it's their job. Last I checked, Somalia wasn't part of the United States of America, or the United Kingdom... money and aid should be shunted inwards, before anywhere else. :/

We're not helping, by holding their hands, and doing everything for them, eh?

So, yeah... screw 'em. Pirates walk a very thin line between life, and death... if we take away the death aspect, what's to stop them from a never-ending career of piracy? If they're allowed free, after each failed attempt, what's to stop them from continually attempting?

[TheMercenary]

4 Americans on hijacked yacht dead off Somalia

The four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia are dead.

Hijacked by Somali last Friday off Oman, the Quest was being piloted toward the Somali coast - and was being shadowed by a U.S. Navy warship.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that gunshots aboard the yacht were heard, and the warship took action.

All four Americans were dead, killed apparently by their captors. There were more than a dozen pirates on board, some dead and others captured, Martin reports.

The yacht passengers were Scott Adam and his wife, Jean, of Marina del Rey, Calif.; and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, both of Seattle. The U.S. Central Command says negotiations had been under way to try to win the couples' release.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...20034691.shtml

[TheMercenary]

Updated info.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ry?id=12971097

[BrianR]

Those pirates had better be glad that *I* am not President right now. I'd have green-lighted the Green Berets to kill every last one of the bastards in any creative manner they chose. As long as there are no witnesses. Then I'd have sent in troops to their hometown and started doing the only thing those people understand. And when their entire village was ashes and debris, I'd have put out the word that the next hostage taken would result in the same treatment, that would end this madness once and for all.

I'm pissed off!

[TheMercenary]

That is basically the Russian solution. You don't hear much about Chinese or Russian ships being captured for ransom.

The USSR did the same thing in the late 70's and 80's during the spate of hostage taking in the middle east. None of them were kidnapped and held hostage for years. There is a reason for that.

[glatt]

If you are a Russian being held hostage, you're more likely to be killed by the cops trying to "rescue" you than the terrorists. See the Beslan school as one example and the Moscow theater as the other one.

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

You don't hear much about Chinese or Russian ships being captured for ransom.

Because it is not news. At any time, as many as 30 ships are being held by hijackers. Your conclusion has insufficient credibility once other facts are included. You don't hear about hijackings because hijacking is rather routine.

Yachts are some of the most hijacked. And so easily hijacked. Many will load their yachts on larger ships to bypass this region. But these people were distributing Bibles in a dangerous and unstable region. As if distributing Christianity in a Muslim region was going to protect them.
.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by tw

As if distributing Christianity in a Muslim region was going to protect them.

It worked for the crusaders. Oh, wait, no it didn't.