Wednesday - April 01, 2015
pirate candy
Actress Clara Paget in character as real life pirate Anne Bonny, from the Starz network’s drama Black Sails. The show features a mix of real and fictional pirates, set about 2 decades before Treasure Island.
Quite an improvement over the original, but you can see where the costume came from ...
Posted by Drew458
on 04/01/2015 at 03:55 PM
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Permalink • Saturday - December 06, 2014
$10,000.00 awarded somali pukes in fine against france, for violating pirate human rights
Have I bored anyone yet with my non stop (it seems) stories about the euro weenie court and their F****** human rights issues? Even where NO humans are involved.
Well this one should wake you up.
Now I know for certain the extent to which that court has sunk into the muck of political correctness.
I swear to you I really am speechless here. I want to write a thousands words and can’t come up with squat.
Just too damn angry at the stupidity.
H/T LiveLeak.com
European Court of “Human Rights” orders France to pay damages to Somali pirates
The European Court of Human Rights says France violated the rights of Somali pirates who had attacked French ships and has ordered compensation for them over judicial delays.
The nine Somali pirates should get thousands of euros because they were not immediately brought before a French judge, the court ruled.
One is to get 9,000 euros (£7,000) and the others sums of up to 7,000 euros.
The judges faulted France for keeping them in custody for an extra 48 hours.
The pirates had held French citizens hostage after seizing a French-flagged cruise ship and a French yacht in 2008.
The French military captured the pirates on the Somali coast in two operations, after the hostages had been released for ransoms of $2.1m (£1.3m) and $2m.
Indian Ocean shipping has been plagued by pirate gangs operating off Somalia in recent years, but international naval action in the region has sharply reduced the attacks.
Days in custodyBefore transferring the pirates to France, the authorities held one group for four days and the others for six days and 16 hours.
But the extra 48 hours of custody on French soil violated the pirates’ right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights, the court ruled.
The convention’s Article 5.3 “was not designed to give the authorities the opportunity to intensify their investigations for the purpose of bringing formal charges against the suspects”, a court statement said.
The judges argued that the time between their arrest and transfer to France was already enough for France to draw up charges, instead of delaying for another 48 hours.
Court judgements are binding on signatories to the convention.
Posted by peiper
on 12/06/2014 at 09:40 AM
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Pirates, aarrgh! • Politically Correct B.S. •
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Permalink • Saturday - February 15, 2014
Pirate TV
The STARZ network has their new show out called Black Sails. Oh sure, it’s about pirates, mixing several historical pirates with half the cast of Treasure Island. So there is some pretty fancy CGI at times, and nearly a whole full sized wooden ship as a set. Problem is, 3 or 4 episodes into the series, and nearly all the action goes on in some dirty pirate town in the Bahamas. So it’s rather a costume drama so far, with lots of relationship drama and nefarious plotting going on. Ok, and some drinking, carousing, and wenching about. And the smallest bit of bad boy pirate sex. Let’s face it, all that Errol Flynn swinging about from ropes stuff would wear on you if you had to do it every day, so most of the time real pirates probably just hung about looking all dusty and flinty and saying “arrgh” from their cheap rum hangovers and rotting teeth.
The show has nowhere near the buckets of blood and chop ‘em up with cutlasses kind of action I was expecting. Of course, I was sort of expecting some kind of Caribbean Spartacus, only with less peen and more cannons and broadsides and “tray-zhure”. But there is hope ... the theme song is a happy little march straight from Hell, done on a scratchy, evil, and properly piratical hurdy-gurdy, the one instrument out there even worse than bagpipes (if you don’t like bagpipes). Think of it as a banjo mated to a seasick raccoon glued to a musical handsaw, then make it sound even worse by giving the drone string a sort of breathy, blowing in a bottle, sound.
On a scale of 1-5, rating it’s pirateness, I’d give Black Sails just 2 drawn cutlasses. So far. Maybe things will heat up in the next couple of episodes. I hope. Arrgh.
A proper cutlass is smaller than a mid-19th century cavalry saber but much bigger than a machete.
It’s a short sword made for infighting, good for stabbing as well as slashing, and for cracking heads.
With a blade just 2 feet long, the above cutlass was just about perfect. So perfect that it was issued by the US Navy in 1917,
when cutlasses were almost never used any longer. It is a highly intimidating looking chopper though.
Kind of like George Patton’s new cavalry saber of 1913,
a lovely, lively toadsticker issued at just about the same time as tanks and machine guns replaced horses and cavalry on the battlefield.
Posted by Drew458
on 02/15/2014 at 11:44 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! • Television •
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Permalink • Tuesday - October 22, 2013
Way To Go Ozzers!
One Up:
Australian sailors have captured a gang of speedboat pirates after a dramatic 36-hour sea chase off Africa.
Like a scene from the new biopic film Captain Phillips about Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, HMAS Melbourne was on patrol off the Horn of Africa when she was directed to lead a three-vessel search operation for two pirate boats.
After steaming for 36 hours at full speed the task group caught the criminals and their high-powered skiffs and Melbourne launched a heavily armed boarding party to intercept the pirate vessels.
The nine pirates who were aboard the boats surrendered without a fight and were transferred to the ship which will deliver them back to Somalia.
HMAS Melbourne, an Australian navy vessel, has caught Somali pirates while the ship was patrolling, 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast.
According to Combined Maritime Forces, the HMAS Melbourne was a part of multi-national anti-piracy task force and she was guided to the boats of the pirates by a Seahawk helicopter. They were the first to spot the two pirates’ skiffs.
On Friday, the pirates had already attacked Island Splendor, a supertanker, off the Somali coast. They also have been suspected in assaulting a Spanish fishing boat 3 days after they had fired [on] Island Splendor.
The pirates’ boats have been searched by the military men, which were armed. They have arrested nine Somalis.
The boats and all their equipment has been blown up by the an Australian military helicopter.
One Down:
The chief engineer of a US-owned ship detained in India has attempted to take his own life while in jail, police say.
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio was detained on 12 October and its crew, which includes Indians, Britons, Ukrainians and Estonians, was arrested on Friday.
Police said others present in the cell prevented the engineer from taking his life. His nationality is not known.
Indian authorities say the vessel entered Indian waters with a huge cache of weapons on board.
AdvanFort, the US-company which owns the Sierra-Leone-registered vessel, said it was involved in supporting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean.
The ship is currently anchored at Tuticorin port in southern Tamil Nadu state.
“All of the firearms and ammunition are used to safeguard commercial ships from piracy in high-risk areas,” [ship owner AdvanFort spokesman William] Watson told FoxNews.com Monday. “These guys are decorated military veterans. They’re brave, honest men who spend months away from their families to protect ships from pirates and this is how they’re being treated.”
Watson said the security vessel was detained Oct. 12 by the Indian Coast Guard and is currently anchored at a port in southern Tamil Nadu state—unmanned with its engine still running.
The ship was running low on fuel in international waters and had asked the Indian government if it could come into port for refueling—a request that was denied, according to Watson.
“By the time the Indians said ‘no,’ we were getting dangerously low on fuel, so we went to an agent and broker in India to buy a small amount of fuel to get us to another, smaller port in either Sri Lanka or the Maldives,” Watson said.
After pumping about 423 gallons (1,600 liters) into the vessel—an amount Watson said is “nothing in terms of maritime fuel”—the Indian coast guard directed the ship to come into port.
Indian authorities then “poured onto our ship,” Watson said, claiming the documents, permits and licenses for the firearms and ammunition were invalid. They arrested and jailed 33 of the crew members, which included Indian, British and Estonian nationals, and then came back two days later to apprehend the ship’s engineer and captain—both Ukrainian nationals.
The chief engineer, whom Watson declined to name, attempted suicide as the Indian authorities forced him from the vessel, according to multiple sources. Capt. Dudnik Valentyn, who had spent nearly a year as a captive of Somali pirates in 2011, was also taken and thrown into an Indian jail.
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio is a 50 meter, 397 ton ship ... which may or may not be operating with any authorization. But hey, it’s the open ocean, so just who do they need authorization from?
Speaking in the aftermath of the detention of the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, former Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral (retd) K N Sushil said : “Who authorised them? What are the conditionalities involved? Who pays them? What is the right of passage for the vessel to enter Indian territorial waters? Who sanctioned them the right to operate with armed guards? If no countries have issued such a sanction, they themselves should be treated as pirates,”. [36] The former Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral (retd) K K Nayyar echoed : “What was the objective and purpose of the ship in Indian waters ? There is not much piracy near our maritime borders. I think some of the biggest scandals are happening out there, and we have to find out what,”
More on that bit of mystery here.
Pirates or politics, or are both pretty much the same thing in that corner of the world?
Posted by Drew458
on 10/22/2013 at 12:43 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - October 16, 2013
Got one … pirate told to come make a movie, falls for it ,, arrested.
I don’t think I need say anything about this. The story speaks for itself. Besides ... I think Drew will love this one and look forward to his usual pithy often scathing remarks.
H/T Business Insider
Somali Pirate Captain Trapped With Promises Of Movie Stardom
Reuters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium has arrested the suspected leader of a Somali pirate group after luring him to Brussels with promises to make a documentary about his money-making life on the high seas, prosecutors said on Monday.
Mohamed Abdi Hassan, known as “Afweyne” or Big Mouth, was detained when he arrived at Brussels airport on Saturday with another suspect identified as Mohamed M. A. or “Tiiceey”, federal prosecutor Johan Delmulle told a news conference.
Tiiceey is a former governor of the Somali region of Himan and Heeb and is suspected in aiding Afweyne’s pirate organisation, Delmulle said.
Prosecutors said they decided to involve Belgian undercover agents after it became clear that an international arrest warrant would not be successful in capturing the men.
“After patiently starting a relationship of trust with Tiiceey, and through him with Afweyne, which took several months, both were prepared to participate in this (film) project,” Delmulle said.
The plan was put into action after two pirates were arrested and sentenced for the hijacking of a Belgian ship in 2009. Prosecutors decided to try to target the people behind the act, not only those who carried it out and so set up the sting.
“All too often those persons stay out of the frame and let others carry out their dirty business,” Delmulle added.
The prosecutor said Afweyne was asked via Tiiceey whether he would be prepared to be an adviser on a film about piracy, portraying his life carrying out hijackings off the East African coast and making millions of dollars from ransom payments.
Prosecutors said it took months to reel Afweyne in and persuade him to come to Brussels, but would not provide further details about how the sting was carried out.
Afweyne said in January he had put his pirate days behind him and retired. United Nations experts have accused a former Somalian president of shielding him by issuing him a diplomatic passport.
Risks from pirate operations decreased following a step-up in patrolling by an international coalition of warships and greater use of private security guards on merchant ships.
Pirate groups have moved the focus of kidnappings to onshore, taking foreign tourists and aid workers hostage in northern Kenya and Somalia.
Posted by peiper
on 10/16/2013 at 04:02 AM
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Permalink • Monday - February 11, 2013
Wait, is this a rhetorical question?
I must be getting slow, when Rich K has to bring a Somali pirates story to my attention. I missed this one, because the story is that ... there is no story.
ABOARD RMS QUEEN MARY (Reuters) - Posted between septuagenarian passengers in deck chairs, lookouts stand watch over the Gulf of Aden, scanning the horizon for pirates.
After more than half a decade of Somali men attacking Indian Ocean shipping from small speedboats with AK-47s, grappling hooks and ladders, the number of attacks is falling fast.
The last merchant ship to be successfully hijacked, naval officers monitoring piracy say, was at least nine months ago. It’s a far cry from the height of the piracy epidemic two years ago, when several ships might be taken in a single week to be traded for airdropped multi-million dollar ransoms.
But as the Queen Mary 2, one of the world’s most recognisable ocean liners, passes through the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and out towards Dubai, its owners and crew are taking few chances.
Like many merchant vessels, the QM2 now carries armed private contractors when passing through areas of pirate risk.
Cunard will not discuss precise security arrangements. But contractors on other vessels routinely carry M-16-type assault rifles and sometimes belt-fed machine guns, often picked up from ships acting as floating offshore armouries near Djibouti and Sri Lanka.
...
The only confirmed attack this year, Goodes said, was on a merchant vessel in early January as it sailed towards the Kenyan port of Mombasa. On-board private security guards repelled the assault after a 30 minute firefight.According to the European Union anti-piracy task force EU NAVFOR, 2012 saw only 36 confirmed attacks and a further 73 “suspicious events” - incidents in which a crew report a suspicious craft that might be pirate but could also be simply an innocent fishing boat. That itself was a substantial fall from 2011, with 176 attacks and 166 “suspicious events”.
Only five ships were captured in 2012, down from 25 in 2011 and 27 in 2010.
“This is an important year,” says Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Sheriff, spokeswoman for EU NAVFOR. “We will find out whether this fall in piracy is really sustainable.”
Maybe I should start paying attention to the west coast of Africa, where all the current pirate action is. The Somalis had their moment, but it seems to be over. The Nigerians are just ramping up. Here is a hijacking that happened a few days before this story was posted ... and is over already.
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - A Luxembourg-flagged, French-owned petroleum products tanker hijacked off Ivory Coast at the weekend has been released, and its crew of 17 are safe, the vessel’s owner said on Wednesday.
SEA-Tankers, which owns the vessel Gascogne, lost contact with the ship around 130 km (80 miles) off the coast on Sunday in what the International Maritime Bureau later said was an attack by Nigerian pirates.
It was the second tanker hijacking in Ivorian waters in the last three weeks. Armed hijackings have been on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea, which is second only to the waters off Somalia for piracy.
However, policing of the waters off Nigeria, Benin and Togo is increasing and Ivory Coast, with a poorly trained and equipped navy, is becoming a new target for Nigerian pirates.
“SEA-Tankers are pleased to report that product tanker Gascogne has been released,” the company said in a statement. “All 17 seafarers are reported safe.” It said two injured crew were being taken care of.
...
France’s Foreign Ministry said the tanker had been released late on Tuesday after the pirates took it to Forcados in Nigeria and siphoned off around 200 tonnes of its cargo of diesel fuel. It said the ship was now heading for Lome in Togo.
...
Unlike Somali pirates who hold vessels and their crews for ransom, Nigerian groups mainly target ships carrying refined petroleum products that are easily sold on the local black market.
...
Three tankers have been targeted in attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in the past week, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to issue a security warning for the region.Two of the incidents occurred off Nigeria, with one attempted hijacking claiming the life of a crew member early on Monday.
Posted by Drew458
on 02/11/2013 at 02:40 PM
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Permalink • Thursday - January 10, 2013
Twelve Fewer Pirates On The Loose Today, 3 Killed 3 Weeks Ago
A medium-small container ship, the MSC Jasmine, was sailing from Salalah Oman to Mombasa Kenya. Right through Somali Pirate Central, about 400 NM ENE of Mogadishu. No surprise, the pirates came after them, in an attack skiff (:-0 “ban assault boats!") and a small mother ship. The Jasmine was attacked with small arms fire and RPGs, but security forces onboard held the pirates at bay. The Jasmine’s crew hid out in the ship’s safe room and put out a mayday. NATO forces quickly responded, including the US ship USS Halyburton, the French ship FS Surcouf, German P-3 Orion patrol aircraft from the Horn of Africa base in Djibouti, and helicopters from one or both ships. The French sent in a boat crew and 12 pirates were captured in the two small boats. Jasmine sustained very minor damage, with no injuries to her crew. If the French decide it’s worth it, the pirates will be turned over to the prison in the Seychelles.
MSC Jasmine is a medium-small container ship, 198m L x 32m W (650’x105’), 31430 GRT.
So, not bad. Good work all around. And it’s nice to see a clear defensive use of firearms. Too bad there wasn’t an immediate group hanging.
A merchant vessel sailing 260 miles off the Somali Coast, made a distress call, reporting that she was coming under attack by six men in a fast moving boat, armed with rocket propelled grenades (RPG). Thankfully, having employed avoidance tactics, the merchant vessel was able to escape the attack.
Upon hearing the distress call, NATO warship USS Halyburton, operating as part of NATO’s counter piracy operation – Ocean Shield, and on patrol 80 nautical miles away, launched her helicopter and was able to quickly locate a suspect boat – which was by now towing another vessel, with several men on board.
Six pirates were aboard the skiff armed with small arms and a rocket launcher RPG type. The crew of the MSC Jasmine – a Cypriot container ship flying the Panamanian flag – took refuge in the citadel. And the team of private security guards on board went into action.
As a result of the action of the security team, the suspected pirates moved away and with no personnel injured and only minor superficial damage to the ship, the merchant vessel continued its transit to Mombasa.
While the attack was underway, the Commander of the NATO counter piracy task force, Rear Admiral Antonio Natale from the Italian Navy, tasked the USS Halyburton, which was in the vicinity, to proceed towards the suspected pirates position.
Within a few hours, Halyburton with the support of a German Maritime Patrol Aircraft and the FS Surcouf, then located and detained 12 suspected pirates on board a motor whaler, that appeared to be acting as a ‘mothership’ together with one smaller skiff.
[tranlated from the original French] The 12 suspects have been arrested - Sunday - by the French military crews collision in two stages: first the pirates skiff (there were only two on board), and those for the whaling boat mother (they were ten on board). They were brought on board for further investigation. “The suspects are being interrogated to gather evidence for possible prosecution” says one well at Atalanta HQ in Northwood. They could - if the outcome is positive - be handed over to a nearby country - Seychelles for example - if the local prosecutor believes the evidence sufficient for prosecution.
Speaking of pirates ... it must really suck to be these guys. Captured by pirates more than three years ago, then abandoned by their company and left to rot in Somalia. Finally freed the day before Christmas Eve by some nifty paramilitary action from that group in Puntland (a break-away part of northern Somalia that’s trying to bring peace and order to the area) that really is not making the news. I hope the survivors are at least able to sue for back pay.
Vessel’s crew released after nearly three years in captivity off Somalia
After 1000 days in captivity the 22 remaining crew of the MV Iceberg 1 were freed as a result of a two- week operation by the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) in Garaad in the Mudug region of Somalia. The freed hostages needed some medical attention and are reportedly showing signs of physical abuse and illness. During the years of captivity two crew died.The vessel was hijacked off the Yemeni coast in March 2010. Since the vessel was hijacked the crew have been left on their own with reportedly little support from their owners. During its captivity, the vessel grounded and is believed to be a total loss .
The IMB commended the PMPF on their actions against the pirates. None of the crew were harmed during the operation. An IMB spokesman commented, “Whilst this is a successful rescue operation, our thoughts are with the remaining 139 hostages still held by pirates, 28 of whom have been there for just under two years.”
The number of successful pirate attacks off the Somali coast have decreased in the past year, largely due to the efforts of international navies in the region, as well as the use of private armed security guards on vessels and other measures to harden vessels against attack.
Gosh, you’d think after being held prisoner for THREE YEARS there would be more to the story than that, right? Of course there is. You just have to visit the British papers to get to the real story. And it’s an awful one ...
By the time the 22 surviving crew of the MV Iceberg-1 were finally rescued last week, most had long given up hope of ever returning home.
The ageing cargo ship was launched an attack against the Somali pirates to free eight Yemenis, five Indians, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese, two Pakistanis and a Filipino man who had been held captive since March 29, 2010.
“We thought the whole world had forgotten us but then the attack started, and again we began to hope and pray,” said 25-year-old Swapnil Jadhav, a seaman from western India’s Sangli town.
Mohamad Abdirahman, PMPF director, said: “Our forces started the operation on December 10, when they went to the coast and laid siege to the ship with the approval of the Puntland government. We had the military resources to rescue them.”
In the end, though, their rescue was not carried out by the multi-national piracy fleet, with its warships and hi-tech weaponry, but a ramshackle Somalia anti-piracy force based in northern Puntland region. They killed three of the pirates and laid siege to the ship for two weeks, riddling it with bullets, before the surviving pirates finally surrendered.
[why was the ship not ransomed? ] Its Dubai-based owner, who appears not to have been insured, refused to pay a ransom for it and simply went to ground, ignoring pleas for help from the hostages’ families.
Meanwhile, the governments representing the different sailors on board — six Indians, nine Yemenis, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese, two Pakistanis and one Filipino — were either unable or unwilling to mount a rescue attempt. So, too,was the multinational anti-piracy force, which generally prefers hijacked ships to be freed by ransom, on the basis that freeing sailors by force carries too much risk of casualties.
All of which allowed the Iceberg 1 to gain the dubious honour of becoming the longest hijack case in modern history. And one of the grimmest.
Conditions on board the boat were appalling, with the crew driven almost mad by prolonged confinement and lack of proper food and drink. Two of them died in the process, one apparently jumping overboard after becoming unhinged from stress.
As a source in the shipping world admitted to me earlier this year, the fact that the ship lay unrescued for so long is a “scar on the conscience of the industry”. The families of the hostages concerned also point out — rightly I suspect — that had this case involved Westerners, it would have been resolved long ago.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/10/2013 at 07:18 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - December 05, 2012
Finders Keepers, Unless You’re The Government
Rat bastards. Eff ‘em all with a tent pole. From now on all treasure hunter ships should have smelters on board. Fuck history. Find some gold or silver and melt it down. Shipwreck? We dint find no steenkin shipwreck!
(last February) Atlanta Federal Court Rules Against Odyssey Marine Exploration; Treasure Hunters Must Return Golden Fortune To Spain
An attorney for the Spanish government said a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday means Florida deep-sea explorers will have to start making plans to hand over 17 tons of silver coins and other treasure from a sunken 19th century galleon. Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. found the treasure off the Portuguese coast in 2007 in the wreck of what is believed to be the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which was sunk by British warships in 1804. Last year, a federal appeals court in Atlanta affirmed a Tampa judge’s ruling that Odyssey must give the treasure back to Spain. The company then requested a stay of court proceedings as it continued its legal fight to keep the treasure. In court documents, the exploration firm said a stay of the court proceedings is needed to prevent Spain from keeping the treasure as U.S. courts continue to consider the case. But in an order Tuesday, a federal judge in Atlanta denied Odyssey’s motion for a stay.
Odyssey made an international splash in 2007 when it recovered the coins and other artifacts from the depths using a remote-control underwater vehicle and brought the loot back to Tampa via Gibraltar. At the time, experts speculated the coins could be worth as much a $500 million. They are still in Odyssey’s possession in an undisclosed location. Almost immediately, the Spanish government filed a claim in federal court in Tampa claiming that it never relinquished ownership of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes and its cargo. Odyssey had argued that the wreck was never positively identified as the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes. And if it was that vessel, then the ship was on a commercial trade trip — not a sovereign mission — at the time it sank, meaning Spain would have no firm claim to the cargo. International treaties generally hold that warships sunk in battle are protected from treasure seekers. The Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes was sunk by British warships in the Atlantic while sailing back from South America with more than 200 people on board.
The Mercedes exploded and sank about 10 minutes into the Battle of Cape Santa Maria, during the Napoleonic Wars. While technically Britain was not at war with Spain at the time (2 months later they were), they were about to be, and much of the treasure on board this fleet - the very last Spanish treasure fleet from the New World to the Old - was to be used both to prepare Spain for war and to pay off Napoleon. The British intercepted them at sea, shot them to bits, and captured the other ships in the fleet. Mercedes took a hit in the powder magazine, blew herself to shreds, and sank. A couple minutes of internet research does not tell me whether the Mercedes was an armed merchantman or an official ship of the Spanish Navy, although such distinctions may have been nebulous at the time.
Either way, pretty damned ballsy for Spain to lay claim to a treasure that they had lost 203 years ago, that was in essence STOLEN in the first place. And even ballsier for the US courts to give it to them. As precedent, this may put the kabosh on future treasure hunting expeditions. Why bother, if the governments are going to collude to steal it away?
Anyway, in their snooty victorious arrogance, Spain put a tiny amount of the treasure on display today. A very tiny bit: tons and tons of gold and silver make up this hoard; it’s too easy to search up hundreds of pictures of the stash from when Odyssey Marine held it.
MADRID – Spanish cultural officials have allowed the first peep at 16 tons of shipwreck treasure worth an estimated $500 million that a U.S. salvage company gave up after a five-year international ownership dispute.
A tiny portion of the loot from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a galleon that sank off Portugal’s Atlantic coast near the straits of Gibraltar in 1804, was shown to the media: 12 individual silver coins, a block of encrusted silver coins, two gold tobacco boxes and a bronze pulley.
Officials on Friday said some of the treasure will be put on display in museums next year. Spain got it from Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration in February after U.S. courts rejected arguments that the company was entitled to all or most of the treasure.
The company [Odyssey Marine] has said in earnings statements that it has spent $2.6million salvaging, transporting, storing and conserving the treasure.
But it is not expected to receive any compensation from the Spanish government for recovering it because the European nation has maintained that the company should not have tried to do so in the first place.
Meanwhile, Spain said the coins are classified as national heritage and must stay inside that country where they will be exhibited in one or more Spanish museums.
It ruled out the idea of the treasure being sold to ease Spain’s national debt in a country grappling with a 23 percent jobless rate and a stagnant economy.
... and all Spain puts on display is a Ziploc baggy full of coins and a pulley? Yeah. Right. And all the rest is going in a museum. Sure, sure it is. A “museum” in the Cayman Islands with a numbered account is my bet. I wonder if the bullion is worth more, now that’s it’s thrice stolen?
PS - and since Britain paid an indemnity to Spain for the whole fleet, because the capture and sinking thereof was considered an act of piracy at the time, then why didn’t the treasure go to the UK? WTH, they’d paid for it, more than 200 years ago.
PPS - to all nations of the world: a big SCREW YOU for your sunken ships. Once they’ve been on the bottom long enough for the bones to rot away - call it a decade - then what’s left is open to salvage by one and all. You want it back, then you’d better act in that first decade. Or you’d better control the whole area the entire time and build a memorial thingy over it ... or else it’s fair game. Not one bit of any of it that’s out in the open ocean can be declared some sort of bullshit World Heritage Site, unless the ship is in such shallow water that people can hold their breath and swim down to it. It’s all salvage. Riches from the deep. Sunken treasure, arrgh. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
Posted by Drew458
on 12/05/2012 at 10:43 AM
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Permalink • Saturday - October 27, 2012
an al capone strategy for pirates. Shoot them? sadly no. jail them says USA. i say shoot them
I don’t want them captured. I want them dead. All of them. But hey, we beggars can not be choosers. Right?
Caught my eye last night after the other pirate story. How many years has this been going on? And only lately seem to be doing something. Not a hell of a lot. But they are doing something.
Drew and one or two of you had it right. Wipe out their nests with nukes. Boom. Problem gone in a flash. Be cheaper as well.
I really liked this headline and especially as Mr. Capone was one of my first boyhood idols and heroes. This was before I discovered Jazz mind you, and musicians like Bix and Miller and Goodman and Shaw and a list that runs on for pages. Can’t leave out Wilson and Krupa and Hampton either. Idols! Even now.
Still though, I always admired Capone, that’s Mister Capone, sorry. And Ben Siegel as well. Or Segal. Take your pick.
While their lifestyles and habits may not have been the best or even moral, their solutions to a problem always made perfect sense to me. If talking gotcha nowhere, well ....... I just hate long drawn out solutions to problems that can be solved quickly with reason and logic and a bit of civilized conversation.
Now if that can not work for some reason, well .........
‘Al Capone’ strategy to defeat piracyThe US has proposed an ‘Al Capone’ strategy of targeting 12 ‘kingpins’ who control Somalian piracy, in an ambitious new drive to crush the threat within two years, a senior official has said.
By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Thomas Kelly, the US State Department official in charge of counter-piracy policy, told The Daily Telegraph a small group of very wealthy men were instrumental in the growth and spread of Somalian piracy.
Mr Kelly’s campaign to prosecute the men under corruption and money laundering laws could be the coup de grace against pirates that at one point represented the gravest threat to world trade in decades.
“That’s how we got Al Capone, he went to jail because of tax fraud. One of the main areas of multilateral work and in places like Interpol is to try to focus on the kingpins,” he said. “Just incarcerating young Somali men who are the foot soldiers isn’t going to eradicate the problem by itself.”
With global backing, all of the men could be facing the courts with the next “couple of years”, he added.
“You have to go after the people who are buying the boats, buying the weapons and then laundering the money in Africa and other places. Money laundering is a global business they’re not keeping it in one place you need to have law enforcement in many different places talking to each other.”
Taking into account higher insurance premiums and other costs to shipping firms, the overall economic cost to the world economy inflicting by Somalia piracy was estimated as $12 billion (£7.5 billion) in 2010 alone.
Figures released by the International Maritime Organisation show a dramatic drop in piracy this year. It catalogued just 70 incidents in the first nine months, a 75 per cent fall off from the same period in 2011 and a three year low.
Mr Kelly said that the combination of increased patrolling by navies from the US, Europe and Asia as well as the employment of armed guards on ships was a turning point in the battle against piracy.
“There was a lot of reticence in a lot of places about using these crews but people learned through experience that this was a critically important factor in reducing the number of instances,” Mr Kelly said. “Its hard enough to climb up the side of a ship with a Kalashnikov on your back but it’s harder when you have some someone shooting down at you.”
Four fifths of container ships and tankers now carry armed guards, leaving pirates with fewer targets to go after.
“Pirates break off attack and look for softer targets,” he said. “We estimate 80 per cent of ships are using private security. We’d like it to be 100 per cent.”
I don’t know as this is exactly the way Drew and I would handle things. I think we’d consult with Vilmar and then bomb the hell out of the bastards.
But okay if this works they have our grudging permission. Not that anyone asked. But they should have.
Now this is the part I really don’t like or approve. But again, I wasn’t consulted and near as I figure Drew has been too busy so they prolly couldn’t get in touch with him.
America is also mounting a diplomatic campaign to share the burden of imprisoned pirates with countries that dominate the registry of shipping. Countries such as Panama and the Bahamas are being asked to prosecute and imprison pirates caught on their vessels.
About 1,000 pirates have been imprisoned in 20 nations as a result of the crackdown on the trade. An international conference on Somalia in London in January backed a British-financed initiative to stage trials of pirates in the Seychelles. Kenyan courts have also sentenced hundreds of pirates to prison.
Yeah and how much does that cost? Don’t much care for that.
I say simply shoot the lice in human form and be done with them. They won’t be missed and lice are bad things to have around.
Posted by peiper
on 10/27/2012 at 04:00 AM
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Permalink • Friday - October 26, 2012
one dead oh happy day, and one pirate boat scatched fun stuff.
Nice to see this for a change but. They only killed how many? And saved 25?
See? That’s what I mean when I harp on the west being too damn soft. The way they treat these pirate scum, one would be mistaken in thinking they were actually humans. Oh well, take what we can get I suppose.
Dramatic moment NATO warship takes out suspected pirate boat off Somali coast in fierce gun battlePirates opened fire with AK-47s as the HNLMS Rotterdam was carrying out routine surveillance off Somali coast
One person on pirate sailboat killed and 25 others rescued after jumping into water as dhow went up in flames
NATO commander: ‘It is obvious the scourge of piracy has not gone away and we need to maintain vigilance’By Simon Tomlinson
NATO warship returned fire on a group of pirates in one of the world’s most dangerous shipping lanes.
The HNLMS Rotterdam, NATO’s flagship counter-piracy boat, was carrying out routine surveillance off the Somali coast when they spotted the suspicious dhow, a type of small boat often used by pirates.
As it approached the boat, the pirates pulled out their AK-47s and opened fire, sparking a fierce gun battle.
During the exchange, the dhow caught fire, forcing the crew members to leap into the sea.
One person on the dhow was killed and 25 people were subsequently rescued from the water by Rotterdam, which has a 350-strong crew.
Incredibly, while trying to rescue the crew from the stricken dhow, Rotterdam came under sustained fire from the shore with one of its inflatable boats suffering damage.
Commodore Ben Bekkering, the commander of the NATO Task Force, said: ‘We know that pirates are increasingly using larger dhows as mother ships. Therefore we routinely inspect them.
‘In this instance, the pirates openly chose confrontation. This does not happen often and it indicates that we are indeed impeding their operations and in doing so, pushing them to take more extreme options.’
Posted by peiper
on 10/26/2012 at 10:46 AM
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Permalink • Saturday - September 22, 2012
Down For Now, But Soon To Return Thanks To UN Aid?
But UN Stupidity May Bring Them Back With A Vengeance
Worldwide Incidents: updated on 30 August 2012
Total Attacks Worldwide: 210
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 23
Incidents Reported for Somalia:
Total Incidents: 70
Total Hijackings:13
Total Hostages: 212
Current vessels held by Somali pirates:
Vessels: 11 Hostages: 188.
News: Six month drop in world piracy, IMB report shows
The number of pirate attacks have fallen sharply in the first half of 2012, led by a drop in Somali piracy, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report revealed today, but warned that these numbers were offset by a worrying increase of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.Overall, 177 incidents were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first six months of 2012, compared to 266 incidents for the corresponding period in 2011.
The report showed that 20 vessels were hijacked worldwide, with a total number of 334 crew members taken hostage. There were a further 80 vessels boarded, 25 vessels fired upon and 52 reported attempted attacks. At least four crew members were killed.
The decrease in the overall number is primarily due to the decline in the incidents of Somali piracy activity, dropping from 163 in the first six months of 2011 to 69 in 2012. Somali pirates also hijacked fewer vessels, down from 21 to 13. Nonetheless, Somali piracy continues to remain a serious threat.
A quick look at the stats shows the current worldwide annual total to be at 223, and none of the last 10 actions was Somali driven.
So, it seems all well and good; the vast multi-national naval effort, combined with the huge land based undertaking in Puntland, has put a genuine kibosh on pirate activities in the western Indian Ocean. Right?
Wrong. Via Eaglespeak, here comes a report that some dimwit program at the UN might bring it all back again.
Hijacked
How the U.N. saved the Somali pirates from the brink of extinction....
My week and a half at sea plotting the vast distances and measuring the response time of the designated naval escorts made it clear to me that piracy would never be defeated at sea. But I had plenty of time with my new South African friend who worked for a security company named Sterling Corporate Services to understand a new program—how exactly how pirates could be defeated very quickly, on land.
In June of this year, my bow-hunting friend, a group of four dozen South African mentors,and 500 newly trained Somali recruits pointed their armada of 70 shiny Toyota Land cruisers, a small fleet of high-powered rigid inflatable boats, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft towards the coast of Somalia—the heart of pirate country.
This once-motley group, the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), had been trained by African, British, South African, and U.S. foreign contractors for two years; in May 2011, they began setting up forward operating bases in remote coastal areas of Eyl, Hafun, Bargal, and Qaw. By June 2012, they were ready for the full invasion wave.
Their target was pirate leader Isse Yulux, a former roadhouse owner turned militia leader, who found grabbing ships at sea much easier than fighting clan wars on land. Yulux had a long track record of successful, and sometimes vicious, hauls—including a Danish family he had kidnapped from their luxury yacht. His brazen capture on May 15, 2012, of a brand new Suezmax tanker loaded with over $100 million of Dubai sweet crude made him Puntland’s Public Enemy No. 1. But the other mission of the PMPF was to push back the rapidly growing numbers of al-Shabab and al Qaeda members fleeing north from the south of Somalia.
Although the anti-piracy program was briefed to the U.S. embassy in Nairobi (which coordinates U.S. policy in Somalia), officials held a dim view of Puntland’s attempt to bolster its own security. Not surprisingly, the West still sees Somalia in its shiny new colonial clothes—one nation under one government. But for all intents and purposes, Somalia was only unified between 1949 and 1991—and most of that time under a Marxist dictator. Somaliland, the former British colony, Puntland, Galmudug, and southern Somalia has always been governed and delineated within clan boundaries, rather than foreign-engineered fantasies. A legacy of poor governance—from the 19th century sultanate deal-making with Europeans, to the colonial carve-ups of the 1885 Berlin Conference to the post-war protectorates—spawned major uprisings. If that weren’t enough, the last 20 years of being the U.N.’s favorite custodial state has resulted in a randomly selected viceroy bullying and cajoling Somalis towards that same colonial goal of a unified, democratic nation.
In early 2010, frustrated by America’s cold shoulder and the U.N.’s obsession with a Mogadishu-centric Somalia run by the incompetent Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Puntland’s President Abdirahman Farole sought help from his biggest trading partner: The United Arab Emirates. The tiny, but oil-rich maritime trading nation had a vested interest in keeping the growing legions of al-Shabab fighters funneling into Puntland away from their ships and shoreline. Within weeks, not years, millions of dollars began to flow to build Puntland’s security force.
In June 2012, two years after its creation, the UAE-funded PMPF—now with helicopters, ocean-going ships, construction battalions, and a massive base—was under pressure from Farole to become operational. He wanted the pirates cleared out by July. Coastal communities like Bargal, Bander Bayla, and Eyl were also pressuring Farole to support their homegrown efforts to expel pirates. The timing for the offensive was perfect: the monsoons that keep the pirates off the seas were about to set in; pirate crews would soon be coming off the oceans. This meant they would be much easier to reach as they chewed qat and consulted mystics about next season’s catch.
But the program had another, more-formidable enemy, the U.N.—specifically, the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (SEMG), a group that was created to document violations of the 20-year-old arms embargo in 2002 by warlord-run militias. The original SEMG reports were hampered by a lack of access on the ground and resulted in a dry accounting of militias and weapons. But with the hiring of Canadian/Somalilander and former International Crisis Group senior analyst Matthew Bryden in 2008, (a period that coincided with the growth of piracy and al-Shabab’s arrival in the north) the reports took on a bizarre and voluminous tone accusing both friend and foe of serious violations.
For example, in 2008 the SEMG accused the United States of violating the arms embargo by launching missile attacks against terrorist groups. Characterizing one such incident, Bryden’s team wrote: “The Monitoring Group considers all weapons delivered to Somalia a violation of the embargo, irrespective of the manner in which they were delivered.”
There’s a lot more to read, in a nice readable story format, so follow the link. And then somebody can tell me why I’m surprised that the UN is only making the situation worse?
PS - you’ll love this: AQ in Somalia with heat seeking anti-aircraft missiles. Wonderful.
Posted by Drew458
on 09/22/2012 at 02:54 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! • United-Nations •
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Permalink • Thursday - May 24, 2012
An Almost Pefect Picture
Flames erupt into the sky from a skiff floating adrift in the Indian Ocean, a powerful demonstration of the Royal Navy’s might as it fights the scourge of Somali piracy.
The boat was blown out of the water by a Merlin helicopter, flown from HMS Westminster, which strafed the vessel, setting fire to fuel tanks.
The pirate crew fled to another vessel before the attack, but were among 12 arrested without a fight by boarding teams from the frigate shortly after.
Like I said, almost pefect.
Don’t Mess With Texas
May 23 (Reuters) - The Maersk Texas, a multi-purpose dry cargo ship, was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Oman but guards repelled the attack, Maersk Line Ltd, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk , said on Wednesday.
The Maersk Texas, a U.S.-flagged 19,592 deadweight tonnes (dwt) vessel, 148 metres (486 feet) long, came under attacked by pirates in skiffs at noon on Wednesday while transiting the Gulf of Oman, northeast of Fujairah, Maersk Line Ltd said.
Despite warnings, the pirates continued to approach the vessel and then fired upon it, after which a security team returned fire in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard rules of engagement, Maersk Line Ltd said.
“All hands onboard are safe and unharmed, and the vessel is proceeding on its voyage,” Maersk Line Ltd said.
Latest News: Somali Pirates 0 for 4 this last 2 weeks
23.05.2012: 1300 UTC: Posn: 12:45N – 043:18E, Bab El Mandeb Straits, Red Sea.
Pirates in three skiffs approached a bulk carrier underway. Master raised alarm, informed UKMTO and alerted the armed security team onboard. Weapons sighted on the skiffs when they closed to 300 metres from the ship. The armed security team fired warning shots resulting in the pirates aborted the attempted attack and moved away.23.05.2012: 0900 UTC: Posn: 25:29.6N – 057:16.8E Around 28nm WSW of Bandar-e-Jask, Iran, (Off Somalia).
D/O onboard a general cargo ship underway noticed a group of 10 skiffs at a distance of 2nm from the ship on the stbd side. The forward skiff broke off from the group and approached the ship at a speed of 20-25 knots. Master and security team informed. Alarm raised, fire hoses and SSAS activated. UKMTO and navies informed. The ship increased speed and commenced manoeuvring away from the skiffs. As the skiffs closed to 500meters the armed security team fired warning shots. The skiffs ignored the warning shots and continued to approach aggressively and weapons were sighted on the skiffs. As the skiffs closed to 300meters the security team once again fired at the skiffs and it was noticed that the skiffs returned fire towards the ship. Eleven additional skiffs were sighted on the port side advancing towards the ship. As the security team fired warning shots these skiffs stopped and moved away. The skiffs on the stbd side continued to chase the ship and then after around 12 minutes from the initial approach the skiffs moved away towards a large dhow in the vicinity. No damages and no injuries to crew.18.05.2012: 2000 LT: Posn: 25:20.9N – 057:34.6E (Around 25nm South of Ra’s-e Jask, Iran), Off Somalia.
Three skiffs chased a crude tanker underway and approached close to the stern. Alarm sounded, authorities and nearby warship contacted. Later the skiffs aborted the boarding and moved away.12.05.2012: 1140 UTC: Posn: 13:52N-042:52E, Red Sea.
About 12 pirates chased and closed in to 0.2nm from a LPG Tanker underway. Master enforced anti piracy measures and increased speed. The onboard security team displayed their weapons and the boats then moved away. All crew and vessel are safe.
You saw that second report? 21 skiffs acting as a wolf pack to attack a merchant vessel. I can’t see how this is “off Somalia” since it’s 6 feet from Persia. And I didn’t notice a word in there about the vaunted Iranian Navy rescuing anyone or fighting off the pirates. But you can see in these reports that ship security has progressed from the barbed wire and fire hoses of a couple years back to teams of armed mercenaries aboard, and they start shooting when the skiffs close to half a kilometer. Pity they don’t hit more often ... or perhaps that bit doesn’t get reported.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/24/2012 at 09:05 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Iran’s navy says it has saved a US-flagged cargo ship from pirates.
Only just caught this bit of interesting news.
So what do we make of it?
Will Iran now become our new best friend? Doubtful but I’m sure the help was appreciated.
Iran navy saves US cargo ship from piratesIran’s navy says it has saved a US-flagged cargo ship that was under attack from pirates in the Gulf.
An Iranian warship responded to a distress signal from the US-flagged Maersk Texas, a cargo ship of 500 feet and 14,000 tons, which was besieged by “several pirate boats,” the navy said in a statement reported by the official IRNA news agency.
The cargo vessel “was saved by the navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” on Wednesday, IRNA added.
The pirates “fled the scene as soon as they spotted the presence” of the warship. Maersk Texas “thanked the Iranian navy and sailed towards its destination safely,” it added.
It was the first time the Iranian navy protected a US ship from pirates.
Maersk had sailed from the UAE port of Fujairah, south of the Strait Hormuz at the entrance of the Gulf, and was headed for the United States.Iran’s navy keeps a presence in Gulf of Oman to protect cargo ships and transiting oil tankers and also defend the country against potential threats.
According to Iranian commanders, Iran’s navy have carried out hundreds of antipiracy operations, engaging in hundreds of armed clashes with pirates in the past three years.
The US navy patrolling the area have on a number of occasions rescued Iranian ships. The latest incident was in January when a US warship secured the release of 13 Iranian fishermen near the entrance to the Gulf who had been held captive by pirates for 45 days.
Source: AFP
Posted by peiper
on 05/24/2012 at 09:36 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - May 16, 2012
Europe’s mainland piracy attack will escalate conflict
This is a followup to the piracy post that was so well done by Drew yesterday. I can’t match his droll comments so won’t do more then present what I found this morning for your consideration.
Short of nuking Somalia as suggested by friend LyndonB with whom I agree fully, I don’t suppose the curse of these despicable sub humans will be solved very soon. Instead we’ll see the possible arrest of a few who will ask for asylum in the west, probably the UK, and immediately sign up for benefits which is likely they’ll get. It doesn’t seem to occur to the .... “arresting” personal we see in photos, that dead pirates do not return to ply their trade again. I noticed a photo for example, of a boat full of these lice with arms raised and confronted by armed naval personal. I wanted to shout at the guys with guns, open fire. Kill em. Then dump them in the ocean. Who the hell would know? But of course, you just know there would be one John Kerry in the group who would carry the tale back to shore with wringing hands and bleeding heart, thus insuring the prosecution/persecution of the good guys who pulled their triggers.
So then, this caught my attention this early morning.
Europe’s mainland piracy attack will escalate conflict
The midnight attack by a single helicopter firing its machine gun into half-a-dozen Somali pirate skiffs is some distance from the “shock and awe” that usually heralds the start of most campaigns.
By Mike Pflanz, Nairobi and Thomas Harding
But as innocuous as it might seem, the first act of aggression by the EU led naval force is likely lead to a greater escalation in a conflict that has so far avoided bloodshed.
By attacking the pirates’ infrastructure the EU NAVFOR (naval force) has signalled that it will give some teeth to the announcement made in March to strike at Somali land targets.
The arrival of the new French amphibious assault ship Dixmude, complete with its Tiger attack helicopters, will increase the likelihood of intensified attacks against the logistics chain and infrastructure of the pirate business.
EU military planners, based at the British headquarters in Northwood, will also have a clear idea of the best targets and will be assembling their forces to put in some hard strikes against the pirates before they can fully react. That would be the aspiration at least, if the force is going to show it has some backbone.
But filling a few wooden skiffs with bullet holes is hardly likely to send the pirates scuttling to the hills and will make not much of a dent against the multi-million pound trade.
At best it might disrupt the trade forcing the pirates to bring their boats further inland making it harder to launch hijackings at sea.
The pirates are also expected to make their boats far harder to detect, possibly placing them closer to civilians increasing the likelihood of casualties.
But after years of successful trade the treasure chests are full of dollars making it likely that the next time the EU launches a strike against the pirate havens they will be met with an arsenal of anti-aircraft guns and missiles.If an aircraft is taken down or large numbers of Somalis are killed, it will mark a significant escalation and further intervention into the wider Somali conflict.
With the end of the Afghanistan coming slowly into view, it is likely that more resources will be freed up to strike against a thorn in the side of the international economy.The only way piracy will be cured is by addressing the problems in Somalia itself. That could well lead to weapons and tactics being used that are some distance in sophistication from a mild dousing by a door mounted machine gun.
the next time the EU launches a strike against the pirate havens they will be met with an arsenal of anti-aircraft guns and missiles.
Well I certainly hope so because that might be the one thing that gets the powers that be off their backside and go in and destroy the roaches nest once and for all. That is the only way to handle this problem. Not with foreign aid and religious missionaries and donations to help the poor starving etc. Destroy them totally. That’s the only acceptable answer. We can only hope that this recent little foray will indeed escalate things. What’s the point of having modern military resources, not to mention the high cost of maintaining them, if they are not to be used? The mere fact that the west has them does not deter piracy. That’s because they are assured that deadly force won’t be used against them. So they can afford to be bold. Make less affordable and you solve the problem.
Posted by peiper
on 05/16/2012 at 04:41 AM
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