Posted on 04/08/2009 3:42:47 PM PDT by Cindy
COVERT RADIO SHOW
http://www.covertradioshow.com
http://covertradioshow.com/podcast.cfm?pid=171
COVERT RADIO SHOW.com: "The Daily Blast"
"Sure the Pirates lost the American Ship, but the real problems remain"
Ensign! Sorry. Corrected almost immediately in AntiMullah
Exactly
A Look at a jihadi propaganda:
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP231109
Special Dispatch - No. 2311
April 13, 2009 No. 2311
“Somali Shabab Al-Mujahideen Movement Spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Vows to Continue Fighting Foreign Forces in Somalia, Says Somali Pirates ‘Created by the Americans’”
SNIPPET: “The following are excerpts from an interview with Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, spokesman for the Shabab Al-Mujahideen in Somalia.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231669/posts
#
BLOG:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/what-piracy-this-is-the-same-old-jihad/
“What Piracy? This Is the Same Old Jihad
The Somali pirates are simply acting on centuries-old doctrines of Islamic warfare.”
April 17, 2009 - by Raymond IbrahimPage 1 of 2 Next ->
SNIPPET: “During the recent Somali pirate standoff with U.S. forces, when American sea captain Richard Phillips was being held hostage, Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer confidently concluded that “the good news is that these [pirates] are not jihadists. If it’s a jihadist holding a hostage, there is going to be a lot of death. These guys are interested not in martyrdom but in money.”
In fact, the only good news is that Richard Phillips has been rescued. The bad news is that what appears to have been a bunch of lawless, plunder-seeking Somalis “yo-hoing” on the high seas is, in fact, a manifestation of the jihad — as attested to by both Islamic history and doctrine.”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025735.php
(AP)
April 18, 2009
“Pirates seize Belgian ship, while NATO forces free detained pirates due to lack of legal framework for holding them”
#
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025733.php
(REUTERS)
April 18, 2009
“As expected, Somali parliament approves sharia law”
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53988
he Pentagon’s top military and civilian officials said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said fighting piracy will require an international effort that includes a whole-of-government approach in addition to military force.
“It’s not just a military solution here,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said in a National Public Radio interview today.
Pirates have attacked at least three ships recently in the waters off Somalia and Yemen, and Dutch marines rescued 20 Yemeni fishermen after their boat was hijacked and used as a mother ship for Somalis operating against an oil tanker.
More than 80 attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and waters adjoining Somalia have taken place this year. Though war ships from 16 nations are in the region, Mullen said, it is impossible to have ships everywhere in a 1.1 million-square-mile-area.
“There are an awful lot of ships, and the number of Navy ships we have out there cannot cover the water,” Mullen said. “Nor would increasing that number dramatically cover the water.”
At the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., yesterday, Gates said shipping companies have a responsibility in helping to combat piracy off Somalia, noting that some companies are prepared to pay ransoms to pirates as part of the cost of doing business.
“Clearly, if they didn’t pay the ransoms, we would be in a stronger position,” the secretary said.
Somali pirates currently hold 15 ships and about 280 hostages. Piracy has become a business for Somalis, who live in a failed state.
“The impact of the dollars that these pirates get in their villages and for the individuals involved is staggering, because their home villages are unspeakably poor,” Gates said in Newport. “And the infusion of millions of dollars into them, and the corruption and everything else makes it a very attractive career field for a lot of poor young men who have no prospects.” And desperation on the ground will continue to make piracy attractive, Gates added.
“It’s a complex problem, and I think it involves both a maritime aspect that involves enforcement and a kinetic aspect,” he said. “But I think until we can do something to provide some kind of stability on land and some prospects for these people, it’s going to be a tough problem.”
On NPR today, Mullen said more needs to be done to punish piracy. “In the end, this is a crime, and it needs to be prosecuted in a court,” he said. “The only country the United States has an agreement with is Kenya, where we have transferred pirates that we’ve captured. That part of the system has to be more robust than it is right now.”
Biographies:
Robert M. Gates
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
CORRECTED COPY (my error in the previous post).
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53988
Piracy Requires More Than Military Solution, Top Officials Say
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2009 – Military force is only part of the solution to the recent wave of piracy in the waters off Somalia, the Pentagon’s top military and civilian officials said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said fighting piracy will require an international effort that includes a whole-of-government approach in addition to military force.
“It’s not just a military solution here,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said in a National Public Radio interview today.
Pirates have attacked at least three ships recently in the waters off Somalia and Yemen, and Dutch marines rescued 20 Yemeni fishermen after their boat was hijacked and used as a mother ship for Somalis operating against an oil tanker.
More than 80 attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and waters adjoining Somalia have taken place this year. Though war ships from 16 nations are in the region, Mullen said, it is impossible to have ships everywhere in a 1.1 million-square-mile-area.
“There are an awful lot of ships, and the number of Navy ships we have out there cannot cover the water,” Mullen said. “Nor would increasing that number dramatically cover the water.”
At the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., yesterday, Gates said shipping companies have a responsibility in helping to combat piracy off Somalia, noting that some companies are prepared to pay ransoms to pirates as part of the cost of doing business.
“Clearly, if they didn’t pay the ransoms, we would be in a stronger position,” the secretary said.
Somali pirates currently hold 15 ships and about 280 hostages. Piracy has become a business for Somalis, who live in a failed state.
“The impact of the dollars that these pirates get in their villages and for the individuals involved is staggering, because their home villages are unspeakably poor,” Gates said in Newport. “And the infusion of millions of dollars into them, and the corruption and everything else makes it a very attractive career field for a lot of poor young men who have no prospects.” And desperation on the ground will continue to make piracy attractive, Gates added.
“It’s a complex problem, and I think it involves both a maritime aspect that involves enforcement and a kinetic aspect,” he said. “But I think until we can do something to provide some kind of stability on land and some prospects for these people, it’s going to be a tough problem.”
On NPR today, Mullen said more needs to be done to punish piracy. “In the end, this is a crime, and it needs to be prosecuted in a court,” he said. “The only country the United States has an agreement with is Kenya, where we have transferred pirates that we’ve captured. That part of the system has to be more robust than it is right now.”
Biographies:
Robert M. Gates
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234263/posts
Twin Cities Somali advocate heading to NY to help accused pirate
StarTribune ^ | 4/21/09 | Paul Walsh
Posted on April 21, 2009 7:14:43 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
A Twin Cities Somali community activist said he is on his way to New York this morning on a mission to ensure that an accused pirate is treated justly in a court appearance this afternoon.
Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, said he spoke Monday with the parents of Abdiwali Abduhl Wali-i-Musi, the sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain.
Jamal said he intends to be in court today with Wali-i-Musi and carrying a letter from his parents in Somalia explaining that Jamal has permission to arrange for Wali-i-Musi’s defense.
Jamal said it’s likely that Wali-i-Musi will be represented by a federal public defender or an attorney arranged by the family, possibly from a civil rights organization on a pro bono basis.
“We need him to get any benefits of this judicial system,” Jamal said as he headed to the airport for a flight to New York. “Our primary concern is that the family doesn’t lose their mind.”
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
ON THE INTERNET:
somalilandpress.com
April 21, 2009
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/nyfo042109.htm
Somalian Pirate Brought to U.S. to Face Charges for Hijacking the Maersk Alabama and Holding the Ship’s Captain Hostage
Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., the Assistant-Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (”FBI”), and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner for the City of New York, announced the arrival late yesterday of Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse to face charges stemming from his alleged participation in the April 8, 2009, hijacking of the Maersk Alabama container ship in the Indian Ocean, and the subsequent taking of the captain of the ship as a hostage.
Muse was taken into custody by the United States Navy on April 12, 2009, while at sea in the Indian Ocean. On the same day, the U.S. Navy rescued the captain of the Maersk Alabama from a life boat in the Indian Ocean where he had been taken hostage by Muse and three other men. On April 19, 2009, Muse was transferred from the custody of the U.S. Navy to the FBI for transport to the Southern District of New York. According to the criminal Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:
On April 8, 2009, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Muse and three other pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama container ship, after shooting at the ship from their own boat. Each of the four pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama armed with a gun. The Maersk Alabama is a U.S.-flagged container ship, and all of the crew members, including the captain, were U.S. citizens. Once on board the Maersk Alabama, Muse, who conducted himself as the leader of the pirates, demanded, among other things, that the ship be stopped. Several hours after boarding the Maersk Alabama, the pirates took a life boat from the ship, on which they held the captain of the ship as a hostage.
Muse and the other three pirates held the captain hostage on the life boat from April 8 to April 12, 2009. During this period, in radio communications between the pirates and the U.S. Navy, the pirates threatened to kill the captain if they were not provided with safe passage away from the scene. On April 12, 2009, Muse requested and was permitted to board the USS Bainbridge, a U.S. Navy missile destroyer that had arrived on the scene. On the USS Bainbridge, Muse continued to demand for himself and the other pirates safe passage from the scene in exchange for the captain’s release. On April 12, 2009, Muse was taken into custody by the U.S. Navy.
Muse, who is over 18 years old, was presented in U.S. Magistrate Court and ordered detained. Muse is charged with: (1) piracy under the law of nations; (2) conspiracy to seize a ship by force; (3) discharging a firearm, and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm, during and in relation to the conspiracy to seize a ship by force; (4) conspiracy to commit hostage taking; and (5) brandishing a firearm, and aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm, during and in relation to the conspiracy to commit hostage taking. The first count carries a mandatory term of life imprisonment; the second count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison; the third count carries a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment; the fourth count carries a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment; and the fifth count carries a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment.
Mr. Dassin praised the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force—which principally consists of agents of the FBI and detectives of the New York City Police Department—and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for their extraordinary efforts in the investigation of this case. Mr. Dassin also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice, the Department of State, specifically the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Nairobi and the Department of Defense for their work in this case. Mr. Dassin also expressed his gratitude to the Government of Kenya and Maersk Line, Limited, for their cooperation and assistance.
“An act of piracy against one nation is a crime against all nations. Pirates target ships and cargo, but threaten international commerce and human life,” said Acting United States Attorney Lev L. Dassin. “Today’s charges demonstrate our commitment to hold pirates accountable for their crimes. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse and his fellow pirates attacked an American crew and its American captain on a ship flying an American flag. Now, Muse has been brought to face justice in an American courtroom.”
“Modern-day pirates bear little resemblance to the swashbuckling anti-heroes of popular fiction. The pirates who boarded the Maersk Alabama were armed hijackers who robbed the ship, threatened the crew and held the captain hostage at gunpoint,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Joseph M. Demarest, Jr. “The FBI joins our international law enforcement partners in our mutual goal of maintaining the rule of law on the high seas.”
“The NYPD was proud to play a part with our federal partners in helping combat piracy on the high seas,” said New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Farbiarz and Brendan R. McGuire are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235214/posts
Lawmaker seeks to stop aid to Somali group in Twin Cities
StarTribune ^ | 4/21/09 | PAUL WALSH, KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
Posted on April 22, 2009 8:12:51 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Twin Cities activist Omar Jamal said Tuesday he has helped ensure that a suspected pirate is treated justly while in federal custody in New York.
But if a Minnesota legislative leader has his way, it will be the last pirate Jamal helps.
Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, said that he spoke Monday with the parents of suspected pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse and that he has been consulting with Muse’s attorneys. He said he intended to be in court Tuesday, but Muse’s public defender said his presence wouldn’t be necessary.
But House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, responding to “tons of e-mails” from people he said were outraged by Jamal’s actions, said he will seek to block nonprofit status and state grants to any organization that helps foreign citizens accused of piracy or terrorism.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235610/posts
Somali President Says Piracy Solution on Land Not Sea
AFP ^
Posted on 04/22/2009 4:29:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed told reporters in Cairo on Wednesday that the best way to counter piracy off the war-torn African country’s coast was to equip and train Somali police.
Ahmed, in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, warned against US military action against the pirates.
“We advise against resorting to (US military strikes) and rather to focus on finding a comprehensive solution,” he said, adding that Somalia’s piracy was the result of the loss of “security and stability” in his country. The new US administration has pledged to step up the fight against pirates from Somalia after a US cargo ship was seized earlier this month.
“The pirates live on land... and therefore confronting them begins where they live, and that can be achieved through strengthening the abilities of Somalia’s police,” Ahmed said.
He said that under the Islamic Courts, the Islamist movement which controlled the government in Mogadishu from 2006 until it was ousted a year later by Ethiopian troops, the pirates had been “finished off.”
Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel leader, was elected in January and agreed in February to proposals by leaders mediating between his government and Islamic hardliners for a truce and the implementation of Islamic sharia law.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236634/posts
“Pondering Somali Piracy”
World Defense Review ^ | 23 Apr 09 | J. Peter Pham, Ph.D.
Posted on April 23, 2009 9:50:56 PM PDT by neverdem
Thanks to But Three Lefts Do for the ping to this thread.
QUOTE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237254/posts
Minn. won’t penalize group in Somali piracy case
KSTP.com ^ | 4/24/09 | AP
Posted on April 24, 2009 3:40:44 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
A Minnesota Republican legislator has failed in his attempt to punish a Twin Cities group that helped line up an attorney for an accused Somali pirate.
The proposal would have denied non-profit tax status and prohibited grants to groups helping alleged terrorists or high-seas pirates.
House Minority Leader Marty Seifert was aiming his proposal at the nonprofit Somali Justice Advocacy Center, which has assisted the family of a man being held in connection with an attack on a U.S. ship in the Indian Ocean.
(Excerpt) Read more at kstp.com ...
Blog:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/show_me_the_mullah.html
April 25, 2009
“Show Me the Mullah”
By Ed Thomas
SNIPPET: “I am struck by the lack of coverage in the media of the obvious beneficiary of the rise in Somali piracy. Let’s just ask the question; who stands to gain from this phenomenon? It’s pretty simple really. The piracy in the northern Indian Ocean raises large sums of money for fundamentalist Mullahs and puts a big hurt on Suez Canal traffic.”
ICC-CCS.ORG
http://www.icc-ccs.org
Click on the link above for more piracy-related information.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=26&calculations=0&Itemid=82
Live Piracy Report
The IMB Live Piracy Report (replacing the Weekly Piracy Report) displays all Piracy and Armed Robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in the last ten days. Click on the map for more details.
Incident Details: View
22.04.2009: 2145 LT: Posn:
03:10.8N - 105:28.5E, Off Pulau Mangkai, South China Sea.
Five pirates armed with long knives in a boat boarded a container ship underway. They attacked the master and stole ship’s cash and escaped. No injuries to crew.
View
21.04.2009: 0345 LT: Sandakan port. Malaysia.
While at berth, two robbers boarded a container ship from a small boat during heavy rain. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Robbers jumped overboard and escaped in their boat. An inspection showed three container seals were tempered with but nothing stolen.
View
21.04.2009: 0510 LT: Posn: 06:46S – 039:21E, Dar es Salaam anchorage, Tanzania.
Alert duty crew onboard a tanker at anchor saw a boat near the port quarter. The duty watchman raised alarm. On hearing the alarm ten robbers were sighted on the poop-deck. The robbers jumped overboard and escaped. On inspection the robbers had managed to gain access and steal ship stores by cutting the padlocks to the store. Port authority was informed.
View
20.04.2009: 0520 UTC: Posn: 13:15N – 047:40E: Gulf of Aden.
Twelve pirates, in two white coloured speedboats armed with automatic weapons, chased and fired upon a bulk carrier underway. Vessel made evasive manoeuvres and enforced anti piracy measures and prevented the boarding.
View
20.04.2009: 1050-1115 UTC: Posn: 12:43.5N - 047:47.5E: Gulf of Aden.
Two speed boats with five to six pirates in each boat armed with guns approached a general cargo ship on the stbd quarter at a distance of 100-150 meters. Vessel fired rocket flares at the pirate boats and contacted the coalition warship for assistance. The pirates aborted the attempt.
View
20.04.2009: 1841UTC: Posn: 03:24.96N -105:29.83E: South China Sea.
Eight pirates armed with knives boarded a chemical tanker and stole crew cash and escaped.
View
20.04.2009: 2030 LT: Posn: 04:00.0N - 006:07.50E, 30 nm Off Onne, Nigeria.
About eight pirates, in a speed boat, wearing masks and armed with guns fired upon a chemical tanker underway. They boarded the tanker, shut down the Inmarsat system and took hostage the chief officer. Main engine was stopped under armed threat and another boat came alongside with two more pirates. Their intention was to get the ship’s cash and not to harm any crew. Master gave all cash to the pirates. Pirates kidnapped the master and 2/E and escaped with ship’s cash and crew personal belongings. The kidnapped crew were released on 22 April 2009.
View
19:04.2009: 0245 LT: Tin Can islands, Lagos, Nigeria.
Two motor boats with eleven robbers armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier at berth. Robbers climbed using hooks and ropes. Robbers broke into store room and stole ship’s stores. Duty officer raised alarm, crew mustered and rushed to the location. On sighting the crew, robbers threatened with long knives and escaped in their boats.
View
04.2009: 0745 UTC:Posn: 12:14N - 045:45E: Gulf of Aden.
hemical tanker underway spotted a black hull vessel with length about 20m with black sail. Once the vessel was astern, it launched a white hull skiff which proceeded towards the tanker. Pirates in the skiff prepared a ladder to board the tanker. The tanker increased speed and enforced anti piracy preventive measures. Pirates fired RPG which fell on the deck of the tanker but did not explode. Pirates aborted the attack and returned to mother vessel.
View
18.04.2009: 0327 UTC: Posn: 02:45S - 056:48E: Somalia.
Pirates in skiffs armed with RPG and automatic weapons attacked and hijacked a stone carrier underway. It is believed the pirates are in control of the vessel and have taken hostage of the ten crew members. Further report is awaited.
View
18.04.2009: 0437 UTC: Posn: 00:36S - 049:14E: Off Somalia.
A passing vessel relayed sighting of one large skiff loaded with fuel tanks towing two smaller skiffs in position 00:36S - 049:14E - course 300 – speed 3 knots. All vessels to remain vigilant and stay clear of the suspicious boats.
View
18.04.2009: 1230 UTC: Posn: 12:18.3N - 046:29.7E: Gulf of Aden.
Pirates, armed with automatic weapons, in a blue hulled skiff approached a tanker underway. Vessel increased speed, activated fire hoses, made evasive manoeuvres and contacted coalition warships for help. The pirates aborted the attempt.
View
18.04.2009: Gulf of Aden.
Pirates hijacked a fishing vessel with nine crew members and used it as a mother ship to attack vessels. A warship intercepted the vessel, rescued the crew and vessel and detained the pirates.
View
18.04.2009: Gulf of Aden.
Pirates hijacked a fishing vessel with nine crew members and used it as a mother ship to attack vessels. A warship intercepted the vessel, rescued the crew and vessel and detained the pirates.
View
17.04.2009: 0500 UTC: Posn: 12:51N - 047:49E: Gulf of Aden.
A general cargo ship detected a speed boat approaching her at distance of 7nm. Warship contacted and informed of the speed boat and mother vessel nearby. The speed boat doing a speed of 15 knots approached the vessel on the stbd side. When the speed boat was about two nm, three armed pirates were sighted. Vessel fired rocket flares, activated fire hoses, alarm sounded. The speed boat came as close as 40-50 meters from the vessel. Master fired rocket flares towards the speed boat. Later, the speed boat aborted and returned to the mother vessel.
View
14.04.2009: 1745 LT: Posn: 02:41S - 046:25E: Somalia.
Pirates in a skiff armed with automatic weapons and RPG approached a bulk carrier from the stbd bow. Vessel noticed a pirate mother vessel nearby. When the skiff was abeam, the pirates fired RPG and automatic weapons. Vessel made evasive manoeuvres and escaped from the pirates. The skiff returned to the mother vessel. Vessel sustained damages to superstructure.
View
“Piracy attacks almost doubled in 2009 first quarter”
21 April 2009
SNIPPET: “A dramatic increase in activity by Somali pirates led to a near doubling in the number of ships attacked during the year’s first quarter compared with the same period in 2008, according to a report issued today by the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB).”
COMMON SENSE AND GOOD NEWS:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517955,00.html
(AP)
“Italy Cruise Ship Fires on Somali Pirates”
Sunday, April 26, 2009
SNIPPET: “ROME — An Italian cruise ship fended off a pirate attack off the coast of Somalia, with its security forces exchanging fire with the bandits, the commander said Saturday.”
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2238306/posts
US Navy: Pirates Seize German Ship Near Somalia
Garowe Online ^
Posted on April 26, 2009 3:03:11 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Pirates have seized a German-owned ship in the pirate-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen, a U.S. Navy spokesman said Saturday.
Pirates captured the Maltese-flagged MV Patriot early on Saturday in the Gulf of Aden about 150 nautical miles (280 kilometers) southeast of the coastal Yemeni city of Muqalla, said U.S. Navy 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen.
An official from the German Foreign Ministry could not immediately confirm the ship’s capture on Saturday.
Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa, Kenya-based East African Seafarers’ Assistance Program, a group that monitors pirate activity off the African coast, said the ship has 17 crew members but could not name their nationalities. He said the large cargo vessel is designed to carry grain, but said he did not know what cargo it contained when it was captured.
According to the company’s Web site, the Patriot is part of the fleet of Hamburg-based Johann M.K. Blumenthal, one of Germany’s oldest shipping companies. A man who answered the phone at the company’s switchboard declined to give his name or details of the situation, saying: “For the time being we will not give further information to the press.”
Many of the ships crossing the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s most busy shipping lanes, are carrying food to eastern African nations, as was the case for the MV Maersk Alabama, a U.S.-flagged vessel that was hijacked by pirates earlier this month leading to a five-day standoff with the U.S. Navy.
Also in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, naval vessels from the U.S., Germany and China came to the aid of a Philippine chemical tanker stranded without fuel in waters near Somalia days after it was freed by pirates.
Maria Elena Bautista, administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority, said a U.S. Navy ship provided five days worth of diesel fuel for the MT Stolt Strength, which was drifting some 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of the Somali coast. The pirates seized the ship in November as it sailed through the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of phosphoric acid.
Pirates have attacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, reaping an estimated $1 million in ransom for each successful hijacking, according to analysts and country experts.
Somalia, which was plunged into anarchy in 1991 after its dictator was overthrown, has become the pirates’ de facto base, a war-wracked country with an economy in tatters where pirates are often viewed as heroes, using ransom money to build lavish villas for their families.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2238522/posts
Aussies threw chairs at pirates
news.com.au ^ | 27th April 2009
Posted on April 26, 2009 9:06:30 PM PDT by naturalman1975
AUSTRALIAN passengers threw chairs at pirates that tried to board their luxury cruise ship. Emily Everywhere’s mother-in-law was among them.
Six pirates armed with machine guns fired on tourists while trying to hijack the luxury liner Melody as she sailed from the Seychelles to the Italian city of Genoa.
The ship’s Israeli-hired security guards exchanged gunfire with the pirates as staff ordered passengers to hide in their cabins.
Couriermail.com.au blogger Emily Everywhere said her mother-in-law was on board, and joined passengers who threw chair at the pirates.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.