US destroyer nears Somali pirates

BBC ^ | 9/28/08

[LibWhacker]

A US Navy destroyer has made visual contact with a Ukrainian ship which was seized by pirates last week and is now moored off the Somali coast.

There is no indication that the USS Howard intends to approach the ship, which is carrying 72 battle tanks destined for Kenya's government.

The pirates' ransom demand for the ship and its 21 crew has fallen from $35m to $20m (£10.9m), their spokesman said.

A man on the ship also told the BBC that one of the crew members had died.

[Dog]

A man on the ship also told the BBC that one of the crew members had died.

Uh oh..

[FormerACLUmember]

Let the commies take care of this, please.

Not one pirate will be breathing oxygen.

[nmh]

So what is Russia going to do about this?

It is their ship; not ours ... .

[screaminsunshine]

Put a solid round through the bulkhead so it will do a slow sink. They will jump off like the rats tthey are.

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

sink it and claim the pirates scuttled it.

[decimon]

Where is that Russian frigate? If that ever gets there then let them take care of this. It’s their tanks.

[Radix]

Maybe Obama who is such an expert on Kenya (being a citizen there and all) ought to be called for advice.

I say ....send a team in, save the hostages, sink the ship with the tanks, kill the pirates, and send the bill to Obama’s buddies in Kenya.

[refermech]

You would think that if each crew member had a rifle they could just pick these guys off. Like shooting fish in a barrel. I don’t understand how these little boats can do this.

[steve86]

Earlier, Times South Africa article posted suggesting chemical and/or nuclear exposure.

[sam_paine]

He said the dead sailor was Russian and had died as the result of an illness.

Plumbous Poisoning perhaps?

[GAB-1955]

When the pirates tried to take on a Military Sealift Command boat this week, this is exactly what the Navy did.

[steve86]

"Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died."

http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=851953

[steve86]

http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=851953

[randomhero97]

I would rather the headline read; “US Navy send Somali Pirates to the gallows.”

[mathurine]

The article reads like the hijacked ship is Ukrainian rather than Russian. I’d say torpedo the ship and sink it along with those antique tanks and the ammo; fish the friendlies out of the drink, and let the pirates swim around so they are able to make good acts of contrition and seek baptism before they drown.

[FightThePower!]

Kill them, Kill them all. Then kill everyone in that whole piece of crap country. Make that a lesson for others of how we deal with pirates.

[jakerobins]

We should ask Obama to prove his negotiation skills. I want to see how he would negotiate with the pirates. Are they going to say we want 20 million or we kill the hostage? Will Obama say no your not??? LOL

[JSteff]

“Let the commies take care of this, please.”

Like Belsin. All terrorists (I think) dead with lose of some hostages.

Good enough for me.

[samtheman]

The pirates' ransom demand for the ship and its 21 crew has fallen from $35m to $20m (£10.9m), their spokesman said.

Maybe they'll accept shares of WM stock.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Two different ships are in the news as Somali hijacks. This one is a Ukrainian ship carrying surplus T72 tanks from the Ukraine to Kenyan army. The other one is the mysterious Iranian ship allegedly carrying “minerals” from China to Rotterdam. The latter is the one where the hijackers are getting sick in suspicious ways that makes its cargo, Iranian registry and mostly Iranian crew very interesting. In this, the former the only commies involved are the original manufacturers of the tanks. Ukraine and Kenya are both friends, at least as long as we can keep Putin’s buddies out of power in the former and Obama’s cousin out of full power in the latter.

[mad_as_he$$]

Last week it was 31 tanks. Are they breeding?

[JSteff]

“let the pirates swim”

The waters of Somalia are some of the most shark infested in the world. Film. for Shark week on the Discovery Channel, the pirates getting eaten.

Good stuff!

[ottersnot]

Not 72 battle tans, 30 T-72 main battle tanks.

Duh!

[PAR35]

So what is Russia going to do about this?
It is their ship; not ours ... .

Have a nice 20 year nap? Now that you are awake, you can read up on the current government of the Ukraine. You might also check out the status of Poland, the Berlin Wall, and the Baltic states.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Is anybody else kind of wondering about this confluence of events?

1. Somali pirates are holding a lot of ships right now. Including this Ukrainian ship AND an Iranian ship with a cargo that is killing some of the pirates. Piracy in the 21 century?

2. The general situation in the mid-east seems to get worse every day. Pakistan just changed governments and seems to be reconstituting AQ. Israel just changed governments. The US shipped a super sophisticated radar system to the Negev. Iran is, well, acting like Iran, and racing to build a bomb.

3. North Korea's leader is incapacitated and they are restarting their nuke program.

4. China is in economic trouble, trust me they will not escape a slowdown from their primary export market.

5. Russia is suddenly militarily asserting itself.

6. Parts of the US are out of gasoline. In the 21st century there are no motor fuels available in parts of the south. What is going to happen when truckers can't deliver food?

7. The democrat/marxist/socialist candidate for president is leading the polls with the help of an obviously biased mass media. The election is only weeks away.

8. Banks are failing in the US and Europe.

9. There is a huge financial crisis on Wall Street.

Is anyone else kind of nervous?

[count-your-change]

Didn’t a little boat take out the Cole? Or maybe a few well placed RPG’s? Freighters aren’t heavily armored.

[claymax]

How about some Enron stock as well?

[samtheman]

Two big sectors in the Americun economy. How can they refuse?

[RadioCirca1970]

Somali happens....

[blam]

"Where is that Russian frigate?"

Probably down in Caribbean waters playing with Hugo Chavez.

[SoCalPol]

It is a Ukrainian ship

[blam]

9 things to worry about? That's just the half of it!

[ZULU]

Only one word of advice for our troops - TAKE NO PRISONERS.

[refermech]

Yeah, it’s probably a little more complicated than I thought. Maybe I didn’t think this one through.....

[Forward the Light Brigade]

I think there is more at stake than some old tanks. Its a Ukrainian Ship right? Could all this have to do with the coming elections in Ukraine? If the Russians rescue the ship from the pirates the pro-Russia party wins in the election. I bet the ransom price will go down the closer the Russian warship gets.

[Skenderbej]

S#!+ happens. Somali (substitute any terrorist entity) happens because we let it.

[Larry Lucido]

Sounds like it. I think it’s probably 31 T-72’s.

[Larry Lucido]

Not to be confused with the Tu-72 flying battle tank. I don’t think those actually ever got delivered. :-)

[yazoo]

Pull to within a hundred yards and broadcast the Dixie Chicks till they surrender.

[Revolting cat!]

I vote for Babs. Or Metallica.

[FlyVet]

I don’t know why the merchant ships that have to operate around there don’t install a deck gun, and a few crewmen trained to operate it. I imagine a .50 BMG would make them think.

[decimon]

Probably down in Caribbean waters playing with Hugo Chavez.

Chavez or no, if I had a choice between Somalia and the Caribbean...

[count-your-change]

Years ago I read of pirates gaining control of ships by co-opting the crew beforehand and painting a new name on the ship while at sea. They then would sell the cargo to a customer at a no questions price. Any crew members that didn't go along were killed and tossed overboard.
By the time the insurance company tracked down the cargo it was long gone and the owner didn't have any power to do much about it. Kind of like knowing your brand new four wheel drive diesel pickup is just across the border but the cops can't get it and the locals police won't. Not much you can do.

[mad_as_he$$]

lol good one!