Pirates hijack second US vessel

[Beacool]

BBC
Saturday, 11 April 2009

Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew members on board - 10 of them Italians, reports say.

Maritime industry sources say the tug was towing two barges at the time of the attack at 0800 GMT.

The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking.

Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster".

The pirates said they hoped to transfer Capt Richard Phillips from a lifeboat to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area.

He is being held by four pirates hundreds of kilometres off Somalia.

In other developments:

- Sailors on a Panama-flagged bulk carrier repulsed a pirate attack with water hoses. Nato officials on a nearby Portuguese warship said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin.

- On Friday, one Frenchman and two pirates were killed in a rescue operation by French troops on another vessel captured off Somalia. Four others, including a child, were freed from the yacht.

Growing concern

Earlier reports suggested that a group of Somali elders were preparing to mediate between American officials and the pirates for Capt Phillips' release, but there has been no news of any progress.

The US national was taken hostage on Wednesday after pirates hijacked his ship, the Maersk Alabama, as it sailed towards the Kenyan port of Mombasa carrying food aid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7994980.stm

:(

[lunatica]

1. What a mess!

I sure hope the Somali elders have mediating influence so Captain Phillips and all the other hostages get out of this alive.

[Beacool]

2. This whole pirate business is out of hand.

Governments are going to have to band together to get rid of this scourge of the seas. Maybe they should divide the ocean off the coast of Somalia in a grid and run patrols, one country per sector. Pirates cannot be allowed to control the oceans.

x(

[lunatica]

3. Actually the ocean doesn't need to be patrolled as much as the coast off Somalia

It's much easier to find where the pirates launch from and monitor those places. If the military can use real time satellite images over war zones they can use them to monitor anything. It's high tech and in this case it would probably work, if they can stop the pirates before they go out to sea.

[Beacool]

7. Good idea.

These people are criminals and they have become more sophisticated in their pursuits. The rest of the world can't permit these people to continue to hijack ships at will.

;(

[iamthebandfanman]

4. someone has authority in somilia?

i thought the country was divided between many factions , all of which disliked each other a great deal...

has this changed since american semi-intervention?


im hafta admint im ignorant to the history of the area... something ill hafta go look into.

[MADem]

6. No one's in charge. It's the Wild Wild West. NT

[iamthebandfanman]

12. its pretty interesting,

i decided to atleast go check out what wikipedia had to say about the area...


this would appear to be the break down now..
as the country has been split into states that have declared themselves seperate...

(EDIT)
yikes, that picture was huge...hadta remove it

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

5. I think it's time for a blockade and a no sail zone.

This shit is getting out of hand. I sympathize with dire situation of the Somalis, but turning to crime isn't the answer.

[Egnever]

9. Agreed its time to lock this situation down.

[Beacool]

11. Well, ships were trying to stay out of their way.

But the pirates have expanded their area of attacks. They have mother ships that stay far enough away, while smaller boats are sent out to board the ships. The problem seems to be that the owners of the ships have gone on paying the ransoms without much adverse effects being shown to the pirates. They are just permitted to go home with the loot to enjoy a newly found life of wealth.

Enough already!!!

[MiniMe]

17. In order to have a "no sail zone", you would have to close off the Suez Canal

The attacks aren't just close to Somalia. Something obviously needs to be done, and international cooperation is required. Here is a link to a map where ships have been seized. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/11/somalia.u.s.ship/index.html I would post the map, but it is in flash and I can't hotlink it. Some of the captures are quite a ways out to sea. The Suez canal is too important a shortcut to the Indian Ocean to cut off traffic to it. Without that route, ships would have to sail around Africa.

[Egnever]

8. "disaster" for who?

They are daring us to do something. It appears as though something needs to be done as well.

[Beacool]

14. Some "expert" on TV was saying that the pirates were making a mistake.

They are sending boats with a presumed total of 50 hostages to the aid of their buddies. Their plan appears to be to transfer the captain and their 4 cohorts into one of their ships (actually, other ships that have previously been hijacked) and to demand ransom for the captain's release.

They obviously don't know us too well, the US does not pay ransoms. This is going to end up in bloodshed.

[PBS Poll-435]

10. Never in a million years did I figure we would have to worry about pirates

in 2009.

[MADem]

16. This has been going on for YEARS. They just have fucked less with our ships than those of others.

They've been shaking down the Saudis for a long, long time.

[PBS Poll-435]

22. Let's just say that during the Bushie years, I didn't hear a word about the pirates

This is insane.

[Phx_Dem]

25. There were 115 pirate hijackings last year. This is nothing new,

but it has to be stopped. And we cannot capitulate to their demands no matter what. Why U.S. companies allow their ships into these waters unarmed is mindboggling. This has been going on for years; yet they continue to allow their ships to be unarmed. Are they stupid or what?

[MADem]

29. It wasn't widely covered, because that's the way the American news is.

If it ain't happening to US, it ain't happening.

Our media is incredibly provincial that way.

This actually goes back to late Bush One/Early Clinton, though in far less dramatic or effective fashion.

Odds are, if they hadn't grabbed that guy from VT, we'd still, as a nation, be in the dark.

Some elucidative reading:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/02/beating-somali-pirates-at-their-own-game.aspx

[MiniMe]

13. It is US owned, but Italian flagged

[Beacool]

15. Yes, but it is still one of our ships.

Now they have forced our hand and they will learn the hard way that we still have the mightiest fleet in the world. The US will not allow a bunch of ocean bandits to take our ships whenever they please.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MiniMe]

20. While I agree that international measures have to be taken to stop this,

how would the pirates have known that it was an american owned boat? As far as they are concerned, the boat is Italian. You statement sounds a lot like George W Bravado Beacool.

[Beacool]

21. Frankly, I don't care whose flag they were flying.

I think that these people need to be stopped, regardless of the nation of origin of the ships that are being hijacked. This is an international matter and nations should come together to find a solution to this ever increasing problem.

[MiniMe]

23. I agree with that

But I don't take this as an insult to the US or to Obama. And it does require an International response, the US can't do it on their own.

[mkultra]

31. and the solution should be to blow the hell out of them.

[stillcool]

38. Who is 'our'?

Are we going to send Blackwater?

Somalia: Another CIA-Backed Coup Blows Up
by Mike Whitney
http://aljazeera.com/news/articles/42/Somalia_Another_CIAbacked_coup_blows_up.html

Up until a month ago, no one in the Bush administration showed the least bit of interest in the incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Now that's all changed and there's talk of sending in the Navy to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa and clean up the pirates hideouts. Why the sudden about-face? Could it have something to do with the fact that the Ethiopian army is planning to withdrawal all of its troops from Mogadishu by the end of the year, thus, ending the failed two year US-backed occupation of Somalia?
The United States has lost the ground war in Somalia, but that doesn't mean its geopolitical objectives have changed one iota. The US intends to stay in the region for years to come and use its naval power to control the critical shipping lanes from the Gulf of Aden. The growing strength of the Somali national resistance is a set-back, but it doesn't change the basic game-plan. The pirates are actually a blessing in disguise. They provide an excuse for the administration to beef up it's military presence and put down roots. Every crisis is an opportunity.

[Beacool]

19. On another note, the Alabama just arrived in Mombasa, Kenya.

The ship is docking right now.

BTW, I'm surprised that neither CNN nor FOX has mentioned anything on this second ship that was hijacked. MSNBC is a waste of time, they are airing their usual crap about murder cases and prisons.

[Jennicut]

24. Somalia has no government and its anarchy. No surprise that these people have turned to pirating to

make money. The main issue is the lawlessness of Somalia.

[stray cat]

27. or let the lawlessness continue in Somalia and do what we can to patrol the waters off its coast

[Jennicut]

36. It won't stop the pirates and that is not really addressing the problem, its it?

[Life Long Dem]

26. Now we'll find out this happens every other day.

Now that news crews are there.

[opihimoimoi]

28. Pirates only listen to FORCE.....they must be taken out asap..nip it in the bud

[Beacool]

30. That's what I kept saying.

But someone pointed out in another thread that you can't have foreign ships with armed crews docking into our ports. So, I don't know what's the best solutions.

;(

[opihimoimoi]

32. By Force I mean total elimination of all pirate activities...make it suicidal

even if it means Land Operations .... Terror'profits by Piracy cannot be allowed to exist....a form of social cancer

[mkultra]

33. well, we have to be careful of the families on land

sure as shit these pirates don't live in tortuga but some small village with women and children.

Anyone who picks up a rifle should be forced to drop it though.

[opihimoimoi]

34. Humane approches is best...second step after diplomacy/warning

Overpowering Force is now required it seems...

[MadMaddie]

35. What's missing in these stories is the root cause....

Why are these Somali's resorting to Piracy....

European countries are dumping Toxic wastes and their lively hood fishing is being destroyed by overfishing by other countries.

Until the root cause is addressed these incidents will continue to occur with more deadly results.

[stillcool]

37. hmmmm...false flag anyone?

Somalia: Another CIA-Backed Coup Blows Up
by Mike Whitney
http://aljazeera.com/news/articles/42/Somalia_Another_CIAbacked_coup_blows_up.html

Up until a month ago, no one in the Bush administration showed the least bit of interest in the incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Now that's all changed and there's talk of sending in the Navy to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa and clean up the pirates hideouts. Why the sudden about-face? Could it have something to do with the fact that the Ethiopian army is planning to withdrawal all of its troops from Mogadishu by the end of the year, thus, ending the failed two year US-backed occupation of Somalia?
The United States has lost the ground war in Somalia, but that doesn't mean its geopolitical objectives have changed one iota. The US intends to stay in the region for years to come and use its naval power to control the critical shipping lanes from the Gulf of Aden. The growing strength of the Somali national resistance is a set-back, but it doesn't change the basic game-plan. The pirates are actually a blessing in disguise. They provide an excuse for the administration to beef up it's military presence and put down roots. Every crisis is an opportunity.