Posted on 02/26/2007 7:37:06 AM PST by SmithL
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Three Somali police speedboats and a U.S. military vessel were headed Monday toward a U.N.-chartered cargo ship hijacked by pirates, a senior police official said. Piracy has been rampant off the Somali coast.
Somali pirates boarded the MV Rozen — which had just delivered a total of 1,884 tons of food aid in northern Somalia — on Sunday, taking the crew hostage, officials said. It is the third U.N.-chartered ship to be hijacked in Somali waters since 2005.
Police boats were within sight of the ship "but we asked them to stop going further because our biggest concern is the safety of the crew of 12 on board," said Col. Abdi Ali Hagaafe, police chief of the Bari region.
"We have asked the U.S. navy in the Red Sea ... to help us in the operation, and they told us they have started to move towards the ship," he said.
The ship is not in international waters, but "U.S./Coalition forces are in the area and are monitoring the situation," said Lt. Denise Garcia of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command based in Bahrain.
Somali pirates are trained fighters, often dressed in military fatigues, using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and Global Positioning System equipment. They typically are armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades, according to the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Hell, I'm old, used up, and broken down. But I would volunteer for THAT duty!
Maybe a better choice of words wouldn't hurt
may I inquire as to why?
Why doesn't the UN Navy protect the UN ships?
Or maybe a French Air Craft Carrier?
I don't think that girl could run very fast. But I'd only be walking...........
Hell, send me 10 of those tsunami survivors like post #15...I'll worry about a boat and the logistics later...
BFD, they won't be able to stand up to a US Navy Destroyer, or even a Coast Guard cutter, should one be in the area.
Piracy is a "shoot on sight" offense. If you capture them by some misstep, you can hang 'em from the yardarm, forthwith. Of course we mostly don't have yardarms... but I'm sure the Squids or Coasties could come up with an appropriate substitute for the practice.
Maybe keelhaul 'em first to make 'em reveal where they are based and who their supporters are.
They are a menace to all peaceful shipping not just UN ships, else I wouldn't care too much.
you can also get an insert that will allow you to fire a single shot of real ammo through a flare gun. perfectly legal all over the world.
Then, why is the Rainbow Warrior still afloat?
And maybe a LAW or TOW missile capability, and maybe a 20mm cannon. The Pirates may very well have RPGs, and 14.5 mm machine guns (.50 cal is about 12.7mm).
There's also lots of (Muslim) Pirate activity around the Straits of Malacca and other Indonesian waters, which he'd have to traverse if he went the other way. Not as much US Navy presence to come running when you call either.
Best one could do going east would be to swing way south, and go around Austrailia to the south, stopping in Oz of course for the R&R you'd need by the time you got there. Then on to the Islands of the Southwest Pacific for more R&R, and thence to Hawaii.
Great if one is in no hurry.
Japanese are too PC to enforce it?
True. There are ways you can "adjust" any flare gun.
That reminds me of a great story:
http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Madmen-Peter-Nichols/dp/0060957034/sr=8-1/qid=1172541165/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2940985-2964804?ie=UTF8&s=books
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