Pirates 'want $35m for tank ship'

BBC ^ | 9/27/08

[LibWhacker]

Pirates who seized a Ukrainian ship off the coast of Somalia have reportedly demanded a ransom of $35m (£19m) to release the vessel and its crew.

The pirates earlier warned against any attempt to rescue the crew or cargo of the MV Faina, which is carrying 33 battle tanks destined for Kenya.

Pirates have seized dozens of ships near Somalia's coast in recent months.

A Russian Navy vessel is heading to the region and the US says it is monitoring developments in the area.

A spokesman for the pirates, who gave his name as Jalal Jama Ali, told a Somali website that the group were prepared to negotiate with the Kenyan government, but would not release the vessel unless the ransom was paid.

[aclusux.com]

These are some dumb pirates.

[Tarpon]

al Qaeda pirates want how much money, for what exactly?

UN food account must be overdrawn.

[PurpleMan]

Calling US Special Forces!! Calling US Special Forces!!!

[johnny7]

How about a 35m cruise missile?

[jsh3180]

Has the article been posted on here about the OTHER Somali piracy story from a few days ago? The one where they pirated an Iranian ship and 30 of the pirates have died from radiation poisoning?

If not, I’ve got to see if I can find it. I had forgotten about it until you posted this.

[Jeff Head]

These same type of pirates tried to approach a US Navy cargo ship last week and were repelled by good ole ma duece.

Russians should have armed their vessel.

[VanDeKoik]

What, no demands for Spanish doubloons and a barrel of rum?

[valkyry1]

These idiots are dead men walking.

[Buffalowolf]

Now is the time for the Russkies to what they do best, slaughter the pirats and burn their villages

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Rooskies are good at that.

[piytar]

Nope. Russia has been supporting Islamists in Somalia for years to “stick it to” the US. They’ve made this bed, let them sleep in it.

That, and Russian SF forces don’t exactly care about the Geneva Convention. They will do things to these scum that our troops wouldn’t be allowed to or even dream of doing.

Now, after the fact, we need to let some USN destroyers go into the area and clean it out. Can you say “target practice”? Maybe unmothball a battleship or two and level a few ports with big gun fire. For starters.

[Nailbiter]

These are some dumb pirates.

And possibly soon to be dead pirates

[ASA Vet]

A Russian Navy vessel is heading to the region

How about if we wait for the Russians to handle it.
They'll be kind and sweet with the pirates.

[wideawake]

They may be dumb pirates.

Or the Russians may have taken exception to the Ukraine's sale of armor to Kenya and used these pirates as a proxy to interrupt Ukrainian trade.

How did Russian naval assets get to the Horn of Africa in such a timely way?

Russian navy ships need to sail from Kaliningrad or Vladivostok or Sevastopol. These vessels are at least 8,000 nautical miles from home base - and they just happened to be on the scene?

Sounds about as coincidental as Russia just happening to have substantial armored and infantry assets massed on the Georgian border just as the South Ossetians attacked Georgian police.

[The Great RJ]

If the pirates ticked off the Russians they may be in for some ass whoopin'. The Russians won't be sending in diplomats to beg for the ship and its crew nor will they be too concerned about collateral damage to any civilians in the area. I would suspect they will come in with guns blazing and take no prisoners.

The persistence of piracy in this area and southeast Asia is another example of the ineffectiveness of the UN and diplomacy. Clearly these pirates pose a threat to every country's shipping, yet the UN as usual does nothing. The pirates like terrorists cannot be dissuaded by diplomatic niceties or appeasement. Perhaps the Russians might solve this problem in the right way.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

“A Russian Navy essel is headin to the region”. I wonder if the Russians will read these Pirates their rights?

[jsh3180]

OK, here it is, the story of the mystery Iranian ship, pirated by Somalis and now pirates dropping dead all over the place.

http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008/09/observing-story-of-mv-iran-deyanat.html

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

This is my favorite Somali pirate picture. Die, pirates, die:

060318-N-8623S-003 Indian Ocean (March 18, 2006) - A suspected pirate vessel ignites in flames before burning to the waterline. USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) and USS Cape St. George (CG 71) were conducting maritime security operations in international waters off the coast of Somalia and attempted to perform a routine boarding of the suspicious vessel towing two skiffs. The suspected pirates opened fire on the U.S. Navy ships and the ships’ crew members returned fire. One suspect was killed and 12 were taken into custody. Coalition forces conduct maritime security operations to ensure security and safety in international waters so legitimate mariners can operate freely while transiting the region. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Daniel Sanford (RELEASED)

[PurpleMan]

Disagree. We shouldn’t cede the defending of the sea lanes to the neo-KGBers in Russia.