The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread

[Ex-Dragoon]

I agree that Spec Ops may be better suited for said operation but I think having a normal NBP along as well to make sure the ship can move and float would be a more prudent plan as well.

 

[HItorMiss]

Well more of a follow on Force is what I would speculate. Assault, secure and then bring on the support package to enure porper operation of the vessel.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Personally having a knowledgeable team along in your first wave would be better...after all how many JTF2 guys would know the vale layout of a ship? Most hull techs and marine stokers would look at something and say...Oh crap we are in trouble unless we do this this and this first...its not like the old days...our NBPs are well trained. Not Spec Ops by a long shot but they could do their job. a follow on package may be too late.

 

[tomahawk6]

Kill the pirates,free the crew and get the ship out to sea.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Kill the pirates,free the crew and get the ship out to sea.

That is something I think all parties involved (well except the pirates) would agree too.

 

[geo]

.... well, France and it's SF troops took care of business just recently.
Am positive that the Russian navy has similar capabilities able to take care of business.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I am curious, if the US Navy has this ship under observation I wonder if they have agreed a not interfer and leave it to Ivan...or if they have chosen to not retake the boat themselves  by there own volition.

Maybe they're all waiting for everyone to get to the party before starting to dance?  Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.

Warships surround Somali pirates
BBC Online, 29 Sept 08
Article link

  Somali pirates aboard a ship carrying tanks and weapons that they have seized say they are surrounded by at least three foreign warships.

One is the American US destroyer USS Howard, another is from Russia but the nationality of the third is not clear.

But one of the pirates said they were not afraid and had enough food to withstand a siege.

A maritime expert said the ship was carrying "dangerous chemicals" and warned against using force.

Andrew Mwangura, of the Kenya-based Seafarers' Programme, also told Reuters news agency that a military helicopter had flown over pirate speedboats heading to reinforce the Ukrainian-operated ship, the Faina, moored near the town of Hobyo.

"With the helicopter and the Howard watching them, the tactic is clearly to scare the pirates."



Pirate Sugule Ali told the AFP news agency by satellite phone that his group wanted a ransom of $20m (£11m) and were not interested in the weapons.

Earlier, the pirates had demanded $35m.

"It is true we are surrounded by three foreign military vessels and there are some others we can see in the distance," Mr Ali said.

"We are not afraid of their presence, that will not make us to abandon the ship or to refrain from asking for money.

"There is no shortage of food supply and all the crew members are healthy and well, including ours."

He admitted that one of the kidnapped sailors had died, but said this was from natural causes.

Meanwhile, Kenya has insisted that the shipment of 33 72-T tanks on board were destined for its military.

Various sources have suggested that they were really bound for the autonomous government of South Sudan, in possible contravention of a UN arms embargo.

'Propaganda'

Mr Mwangura said two previous shipment of Ukrainian weapons had already passed through Kenya.

"There have been alarming propaganda by the pirates to media that the weapons are not for the Kenyan military. This is a tactic by the terrorists to try and fend off reprisals against them," Kenya's government spokesman Alfred Mutua said.

The former rebel SPLA which governs South Sudan has denied any links to the tanks, reports the UN-sponsored Radio Miraya FM.

However, it also quoted the SPLA's Major General Byor Ajang as saying that the army had the right to import weapons from anywhere in the world without co-ordination with the government in the north.

Earlier, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, Lt Nathan Christensen, said the USS Howard was within 8km (5 miles) of the Ukrainian vessel, but refused to say whether they were preparing to attack the pirates.

He said the ship's cargo of battle tanks made it a particularly worrying situation.

"We're concerned that this might end up in the wrong hands, such as terrorists or violent extremists," he said.

Islamist insurgents, not known to have links to the pirate gangs, are battling government troops, their Ethiopian allies and African Union peacekeepers in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered continual civil strife, with rival armed groups fighting for control.

The waters off the coast of Somalia are considered some of the world's most dangerous.

Even ships carrying food aid are often targeted, hampering the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the estimated three million Somalis in need of aid.

France, which has troops in nearby Djibouti and also participates in a multi-national naval force patrol in the area, has intervened twice to release French sailors kidnapped by pirates.

Authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland say they are powerless to confront the pirates, who regularly hold ships for ransom at the port of Eyl.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The US Navy ships seem to be circling, at least according to the New York Times, the Associated Press and the Kyiv Post.

 

[OldSolduer]

Get these pirates and....well....lets make them dissappear....forever...

 

[The Bread Guy]

Get these pirates and....well....lets make them dissappear....forever...

I'm guessing some folks here may be working on just that specific deliverable.....

 

[CougarKing]

they are surrounded by at least three foreign warships.

One is the American US destroyer USS Howard, another is from Russia but the nationality of the third is not clear.

So the Russian Destroyer NEUSTRASHIMY has already arrived?   My God that was quick! Or is that another Russian merchantman they are talking about? It clearly says warships above.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

We won't know until we have creditable data...information from pirates is hardly credible.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Good point - the pirates are quoted saying " "It is true we are surrounded by three foreign military vessels and there are some others we can see in the distance," Mr Ali said," but it's not as clear where BBC got the earlier information re:  the Russian ship.  The more recent CLIPINT suggests they're all American ships in the area (although I don't know if the reporters asked the US Navy spokesperson if RUS ships were in the area).

Interesting tidbit from Voice of America:

"With permission from the pirates, one of the Russian hostages spoke to VOA by satellite telephone. Identifying himself as First Mate Viktor Nikolsky, he confirmed reports from Moscow that the ship's Russian captain Vladimir Kolobkov has died of natural causes."

It appears VOA may have had some contact with the pirates - wonder who else saw the reports from those calls before they got posted online? 

 

[AlphaQup]

We were discussing this in class today & someone pointed out a lot of the illegal dumping going on off the coast of Somalia. I just googled it and it seems related to the piracy.

UN envoy decries illegal fishing, waste dumping off Somalia

Jul 25, 2008

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN special envoy for Somalia on Friday sounded the alarm about rampant illegal fishing and the dumping of toxic waste off the coast of the lawless African nation.

"Because there is no (effective) government, there is so much irregular fishing from European and Asian countries," Ahmedou Ould Abdallah told reporters.

He said he had asked several international non-governmental organizations, including Global Witness, which works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide, "to trace this illegal fishing, illegal dumping of waste."

"It is a disaster off the Somali coast, a disaster (for) the Somali environment, the Somali population," he added.

Ould Abdallah said the phenomenon helps fuel the endless civil war in Somalia as the illegal fishermen are paying corrupt Somali ministers or warlords for protection or to secure fake licenses.

East African waters, particularly off Somalia, have huge numbers of commercial fish species, including the prized yellowfin tuna.

Foreign trawlers reportedly use prohibited fishing equipment, including nets with very small mesh sizes and sophisticated underwater lighting systems, to lure fish to their traps.

"I am convinced there is dumping of solid waste, chemicals and probably nuclear (waste).... There is no government (control) and there are few people with high moral ground," Ould Abdallah added.

Allegations of waste dumping off Somalia by European companies have been heard for years, according to Somalia watchers. The problem was highlighted in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when broken hazardous waste containers washed up on Somali shores.

But world attention has recently focused on piracy off Somalia, which has taken epidemic proportions since the country sank into chaos after warlords ousted the late president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Somalia's coastal waters are now considered to be among the most dangerous in the world, with more than 25 ships seized by pirates there last year despite US navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Some Somali pirates have reportedly claimed to be acting as "coastguards" protecting their waters from illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVV_gQDsp1m8v7nPcumVc5McYV-Q
Has this been addressed?

 

[tomahawk6]

I wonder where this ship is going ?

SUEZ CANAL, Egypt(Sept. 23, 2008) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits through the Suez Canal. San Antonio is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)

Images of hijacked ship.

Somali pirates in small boats hijack the MV Faina, a Belize-flagged cargo ship owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine, September 25, 2008, in this handout photo released September 28, 2008. Somali pirates demanded a $35 million ransom on Saturday for the Ukrainian ship they seized, which was carrying 33 T-72 tanks and other military supplies to Kenya, a maritime official said. Picture taken September 25, 2008.

 

[OldSolduer]

Maybe if one or two of those cargo ships were to plow into those pirates and sink a few, pirates might think twice about pirating other people's stuff.

 

[dapaterson]

Maybe if one or two of those cargo ships were to plow into those pirates and sink a few, pirates might think twice about pirating other people's stuff.

Not that simple.  The pirates are using smaller, faster, more maneuverable craft and are therefore able to avoid the relatively slow and lumbering freighters, should they try to swerve.  I do suspect that this time they bit off more than they expected, and are getting much more heat and light that they really wanted - it's going to put real crimp into their business for a while.

 

[GAP]

They are all playing by international piracy rules that state that as soon as the pirates stop shooting, they are no longer pirates.....

A whole lot of countries and companies need to start growing a set.....start arming these ships with teams and don't take prisoners....there are no witnesses...

 

[OldSolduer]

A few should be shot and killed. That is the way you deal with them. NO negotiation....just a 9mm solution.

 

[The Bread Guy]

A few should be shot and killed.

Interesting you should mention that - shared with the usual disclaimer...

Associated Press:  "US official says 3 pirates may be dead in shootout"

Canadian Press:  "US says 3 Somali pirates believed killed in argument aboard hijacked ship"

And, of course...
Press Association:  "Somali pirates deny shoot-out"