Monday - November 17, 2008

Now will we finally see some action?

Somali pirates have been seizing yachts and sailboats and all manner of freighters filled with crates of whatever for several years now, and very little has been done. Yadda yadda, we’re sending a couple of Navy ships, yadda yadda, respect the pirate’s human rights, blah blah blah. But I think this time they’ve bitten off a little bit more than they can chew, and I hope the international response is a real jawbreaker. A real burn-the-cities-and-salt-the-earth kind of response.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Somali pirates hijacked a supertanker hundreds of miles off the Horn of Africa, seizing the Saudi-owned ship loaded with crude and its 25-member crew, the U.S. Navy said Monday.

It appeared to be the largest ship ever seized by pirates. After the brazen hijacking, the pirates on Monday sailed the Sirius Star to a Somali port that has become a haven for bandits and the ships they have seized, a Navy spokesman said.

The hijacking was among the most brazen in a surge in attacks this year by ransom-hungry Somali pirates. Attacks off the Somali coast have increased more than 75 percent this year, and even the world’s largest vessels are vulnerable.

The Sirius Star, commissioned in March and owned by the Saudi oil company Aramco, is 1,080 feet long — about the length of an aircraft carrier — making it one of the largest ships to sail the seas. It can carry about 2 million barrels of oil.

Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the pirates hijacked the ship on Saturday about 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya — the farthest out to sea Somali pirates have struck.

By expanding their range, Somali pirates are “certainly a threat to many more vessels,” Christensen said. He said the pirates on the Sirius Star were “nearing an anchorage point” at the Somali port town of Eylon Monday.

Somali pirates have seized at least six several ships off the Horn of Africa in the past week, but the hijacking of a supertanker marked a dramatic escalation.

The Sirius Star is built to the latest maritime regulations and to Vela’s safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly specifications to ensure the reliable transportation of Saudi Aramco’s crude oil to its customers.

Multinational Outrage!!

A supertanker hijacked by pirates and with British nationals among its hostages is making its way to a Somali port, according to the US Navy.

The Foreign Office earlier confirmed that two Britons were among the 25 crew. Nationals from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia are also on board.

A NATO flotilla of seven ships, as well as a Russian frigate and Indian vessels, are in the Gulf of Aden to help the U.S. 5th Fleet in anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. The 5th Fleet said it has repelled about two dozen pirate attacks since Aug. 22 in the gulf, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and is one of the world’s busiest waterways with some 20,000 ships passing through it each year.

Looks like it’s time the fighting navies of the entire world to get their rudders in gear and start actively suppressing piracy across the entire western Indian Ocean. The Sirius was seized south east of Kenya, but not really all that far out at sea. And let’s get that damned little circle of mud huts, the pirate enclave town of Eyl, a modern day Port Royal, burned to the ground already. Somalia has become an enemy of the world, and it’s past time they paid the price.

Nearly Instant Update:

Campbell said the Navy does not expect to dispatch a vessel to aide the super tanker because it does not have dangerous weapons aboard like the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized by pirates on September 25.
...
Eleven vessels are currently being held by pirates hoping to secure ransoms for their release, according to The Associated Press. They include the MV Faina, which was hijacked along with 20 crew and a cargo of weapons and T-72 tanks.
...
“Piracy is an international crime that threatens global commerce. Shipping companies have to understand that naval forces can not be everywhere. Self protection measures are the best way to protect their vessels, their crews, and their cargo.”

So the Navy won’t do shit? And the ships should be protecting themselves? Fair enough. Issue Letters of Marque to every single merchant vessel over 10,000 tons and arm them. 40mm Bofors guns bow, stern, and midships, augmented with a dozen M2s. From Durban South Africa to Mumbai India, any small ship approaching a large ship in transit will be shot and sunk on sight. Period. Same approach for the other pirate infested sea passages around the globe.

Posted by Drew458     on 11/17/2008 at 12:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •  
• Comments (8) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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