Bet those buggers were happy pirates

[Grumpmeister]

30 T-72 tanks? They could cause a hell of a lot of grief with those. 

I have to ask, why the hell are ships still using that route if its known to be a favourite for pirates. Or at the very least why the hell dont they have a decent sized security contingent on board, especially in this case.

Pirates off the coast of Somalia have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying T-72 tanks, an official has said.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

A report from Russia's Interfax news agency said earlier that the ship had a cargo of about 30 tanks, as well as spare parts for armoured vehicles.

There has been a recent surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Somali pirates are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships in the base in Eyl, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

It was not immediately clear where the Ukrainian ship had been taken.

Speed boats

Andrew Mwngura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, confirmed to the BBC that the ship was carrying a cargo of tanks.

The tanks were to be transported by road from Kenya to South Sudan.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said the ship's captain had reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men on Thursday afternoon.

Insurgents in Somalia, not known to have links to the pirates, are currently battling a combination of government troops, their Ethiopian allies and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu and other parts of southern Somalia.

The country has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading to a collapse of law and order both on land and the sea.

The US has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti and has carried out several air strikes against the Islamist insurgents, accusing them of sheltering al-Qaeda operatives.

[Snoopy]

Frankly I cannot see why the navies of several countries cannot put together a fleet and wipe these buggers out all together. Surely it is not beyond them.
Fit out a cargo vessel, load it with marines, sail innocently into the "Pirate" waters. Let the pirates board and then kill them. Meanwhile the Navy have a carrier just over the horizon to mop up any escaping speedboats with their missiles/jet fighters ~ the pirate may have fast speed boats and be "armed to the teeth" but they won't outrun these.

[Grumpmeister]

The problem is that if we attempt that then the Islamists who are rife there will use the enterprise to massively boost their numbers and we will be no better off. As loth as I am to suggest it the only way to ensure long term stability in that area is going to be to treat it as another Afghanistan or Iraq.

[grumpyoldsoldier]

Frankly I cannot see why the navies of several countries cannot put together a fleet and wipe these buggers out all together. Surely it is not beyond them.
Fit out a cargo vessel, load it with marines, sail innocently into the "Pirate" waters. Let the pirates board and then kill them. Meanwhile the Navy have a carrier just over the horizon to mop up any escaping speedboats with their missiles/jet fighters ~ the pirate may have fast speed boats and be "armed to the teeth" but they won't outrun these.

Based on what happened to our marines  in Iranian waters not so long back, the odds are stacked in favour of the pirates I would think.

[Snoopy]

I see that the US Navy has a destroyer off shore with the "kidnapped" ship and several others also pirated in sight.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7640496.stm

I hear what GOS is saying but given how trigger happy the Yanks are those pirates will not get close enough to do them any harm.

[grumpyoldsoldier]

Ironic really, from a nation that invented gun boat politics

[Snoopy]

Ironic really, from a nation that invented gun boat politics

Like so much else ~ we had the idea but fvcked up somewhere between the inventing and the marketing.

[Darwins Selection]

Ironic really, from a nation that invented gun boat politics

But God was on our side. . .

[grumpyoldsoldier]

Damn right! And he was English, he wore a pith helmet and a borrowed pair of Blashford-Snell's khaki shorts too

[Grumpmeister]

There could be another solution to the pirate problem, bring back the Q ship.

A couple of instances where the last thing the pirates see is the freighter they are about to attack suddenly sprout more guns than Charlton Heston's rec room should give them pause.

[Nick]

Ironic really, from a nation that invented gun boat politics

Like so much else ~ we had the idea but fvcked up somewhere between the inventing and the marketing.

Reminds me of some things that Mr Winder said 

[Darwins Selection]

Ironic really, from a nation that invented gun boat politics

Like so much else ~ we had the idea but fvcked up somewhere between the inventing and the marketing.

Reminds me of some things that Mr Winder said 

Mike or Bernie?

[Grumpmeister]

Looks like darwin could be solving the pirate problem for us, it looks like here has been a fight amongst them over what to do with the weapons.

Somali pirates on board a hijacked ship are reported to have been involved in a shoot-out over what to do with the vessel's cargo of tanks and weapons.

An East African maritime group, which is monitoring the situation, told the BBC that three men were shot but the extent of their injuries was unclear.

Pirates seized the Ukrainian ship last week, demanding a $20m (£11m) ransom.

They dismissed the claim of infighting as "propaganda", in a satellite phone call to AFP news agency.

"We are united as we were before and there was no fighting that took place among us," a spokesman for the pirates told AFP.

Life in Somalia's pirate town

"This is propaganda being spread by some people who are not aware of our situation. We are united in punishing those who abuse Somali waters," said Sugule Ali.

In a separate development, the state-owned Malaysian shipping firm, MISC Berhad, said two of its ships had been recovered after it paid a ransom to pirates.

A spokesman said paying ransoms was against company policy, but had been necessary to obtain the release of its crew.

Back pedalling

The hijacked Ukrainian ship, the Faina, is surrounded by international warships determined to stop its military cargo from falling into the wrong hands.

The US navy says its destroyers and cruisers are within 10 miles (16kms) of ship.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Association - who has been in contact with the vessel - told the BBC that two rival clans had been fighting over tactics.

He said radicals on board wanted to keep the shipment of 33 72-T tanks and other weapons in Somalia while the moderates wanted "to back-pedal on the ransom issue".

Mr Mwangura said his main concern was the safety of the crew, and that the military activity in the area had unnerved the hijackers.

"We are asking the international community and the negotiators around that area to pull back - so they cool off," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Earlier, the pirates said they would rather fight than surrender.

"I warn any military operation that, if we are attacked, we will defend ourselves until the last one of us dies," one of the hijackers told the BBC.

One of the ship's 21 crew is reported to have died from an illness on board.

Ilness? Let me guess plumbum virus perchance? I hear its rife where somali pirates are concerned.

'Concern'

The Faina is currently moored off Somali's coast close to the town of Hoboyo. There have been conflicting reports of where the Faina and its cargo were destined.

Kenya has insisted that the shipment was destined for its military.

But other sources, including a US navy spokesman, said it was bound for the autonomous government of South Sudan, in possible contravention of a peace accord.

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

The waters off its coast are considered to be some of the world's most dangerous - pirates have hijacked nearly 30 ships this year and attacked many more.

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

A spokesman for the UN's World Food Programme said it supplies 90% of aid to Somalia by seas but that hijackings were increasing despite the number of naval forces in patrolling the shipping lanes.

[Uncle Mort]

How the hell can pirates capture a VLCC?

BBC link

The Sirius Star is 318,000 dwt. It takes about 15 minutes and 3 kilometres to stop the thing.

I'm surprised the captain even noticed the pirates.

[Nick]

They could start shooting into the oil tanks and wait to see what happens next!