Friday - January 14, 2011

The World Still Exists, Part I

The crew of a Danish weapons ship have been kidnapped by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Oman, but in an unusual departure from normal practice, the vessel was not seized, a report said Thursday.

Sources told the TradeWinds shipping publication that the 2,000-tonne ship, The Leopard, was carrying “sensitive” cargo, believed to include weapons.

Vessels operated by the Leopard’s Danish operator, Shipcraft, routinely carried nuclear items, although none were believed to have been on board this vessel, it said.

The six crew—two Danes including the captain, and four Filipinos—had been taken to a seized Taiwanese fishing vessel being operated as a mothership, the report added.

The ship had meanwhile been located and searched by the Turkish navy and no trace of any pirates or pirate skiffs had been found.

Nato sailors searched the abandoned vessel. Its cargo is said to be intact.

The Nato sailors from a Turkish warship, the Gaziantep, boarded the M/V Leopard on Thursday, when it was found to be drifting.

It is not clear why the ship was immobilised, said a spokesman for the EU’s Navfor anti-piracy mission.

“We believe the ship was carrying arms, ammunition and explosives, and we believe the cargo is still intact,” said the spokesman, Wing Commander Paddy O’Kennedy.

One single shipload of weapons would be enough for any Somali warlord to arm enough followers to take over the entire country. At the very least it would keep his pirates armed to the teeth for years to come. Like I said, d’oh!!

Posted by Drew458     on 01/14/2011 at 12:20 PM   
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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