US Security Firm Hired to Eliminate Somali Pirates

MND ^ | Thursday, December 01, 2005 | by Jim Kouri, CPP

[Nasty McPhilthy]

The waters off the coast of crisis-torn Somalia are believed to be the most dangerous on the high seas. Just last month, pirates firing shoulder-held, rocket-propelled grenades or RPGs and fully-automatic assault rifles attacked a US-owned cruise liner about 100 miles off the Somali coast. The ocean liner was able to escape the attack using security countermeasures. Intelligence officials are still not certain if the pirates were seeking to board the vessel or trying to destroy it while killing the passengers and crew.

In response to this latest attack, the Somali government -- a government practically in exile because of warlords, Al-Qaeda and Wahhabi terrorists -- has signed a contract with an United States-based security company that specializes in marine special operations. The hope is that the security firm will put an end to the proliferating piracy in that African region.

New York-based Topcat Marine Security signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government, which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters.

Topcat is one of the world's foremost private security agencies offering clients law enforcement, counterterrorism and marine combat specialists. Topcat's client list includes the US Department of Homeland Security. They use state-of-the-art weaponry and equipment in order to mount offensive operations against pirates or terrorists who use the high seas for their acts of terrorism and piracy.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi has said his government recognized the damage caused by pirates and hoped Topcat would help end their reign of terror.

"The agreement signed today will defend Somalia's territorial waters, defeat the pirates," Gedi said, "The government wishes to express its dismay at these abhorrent actions."

Peter Casini, Topcat's head of research and development, said once in operation his company would target a mother ship used by the pirates to launch attacks on passing vessels.

"We will end the piracy very quickly, there is no question about that," Casini said in a press release. "There is a ship that is launching small ships 75 to 100 miles from the shore, our goal is to take the mother ship."

According to reports, there have been 32 pirate attacks reported since March. They involved suspected Somali pirates or terrorists or both. Somalia has been without a central government since 1991, when rival warlords with ties to Al-Qaeda took control of the country perpetrating a reign of terror against their own people

[Nasty McPhilthy]

Arrrrr!

[Little Pig]

I wondered how long it would take for the MSPs to get "on the ground" regarding nautical piracy. I'll be interested to see if one of the bigger firms tackles the Indonesian pirates.

[LongElegantLegs]

Pirate Ping!

[speed_addiction]

After getting shot in the face there 12 years ago, I swore I would never return. Lately, I have been seriously thinking about going back there. I don't know why.


What We Are About To Do Here Is What The Good Lord Would Call A Cleansing of the Wicked. I Call It A Good Old Fashioned Texas Ass Kicking.

[End Times Sentinel]

I don't know if I can think of something more fun than unleashing all Holy Hell on a pirate ship with the most advanced weaponry on hand.  Leave 'em bobbing in the water, something tells me they're not going to be able to swim the 75 miles back to shore.

Owl_Eagle

"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in.  I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"

-Hillary Clinton

(Yes, she really said that

Peggy Noonan

The Case Against Hillary Clinton, pg 55)

[capt.P]

One of the worst parts of being a merchant mariner is that we're relatively unarmed. Piracy is a real growth industry off Africa, in the South China Sea and even in the Caribbean. Our dear friends, the Chinese Gov't. have a nasty habit of buying stolen ships, then repainting them and reselling them. The odds are decent that there's 24 filipinos being held hostage on that ship... there are no pirate 'mother ships,' just hijacked ships being used as temporary bases of operations. The real shame is that if there is a crew being held, they generally get 'dissapeared' when the ship gets sold.

Hey, on a happier note, remember the WTO summit in Savannah Last year? One of my sailors flew a pirate flag up the mast of my tanker- CNN was using us for a backdrop, so another one of my guys hung a blowup doll over the rail. The CNN guys moved.