Posted on 12/11/2007 3:07:16 PM PST by blam
Somali pirates threaten to kill tanker crew
By Laura Clout and agencies
Last Updated: 12:32pm GMT 11/12/2007
A tense standoff has developed off the Somali coast between US warships and pirates who have hijacked a tanker packed with explosive chemicals.
Somali pirates are able to operate with relative impunity off the volatile Horn of Africa.
Under seige from the US navy, the pirates have now threatened to kill all 22 crew members of the Japanese Golden Nori unless a $1 million ransom is paid.
The tanker, carrying up to 40,000 tons of inflammable benzene, was captured as it was sailing from Singapore to Israel.
Two US Navy ships picked up the ship's distress calls and fired on the pirates' speedboats, sinking two.
The warships followed the kidnapped tanker into Somali coastal waters and trapped it close to the Somali port of Bossaso, preventing supplies from getting to the ship.
However they are afraid to launch an assault on the ship for fear of detonating its cargo.
Negotiations have been under way to free the vessel, currently anchored off north-east Somalia, with crew members from Burma (also known as Myanmar), the Philippines and South Korea on board.
A spokesman for the ship's Japanese owner, Dorval Kaiun KK, said it was hoping to win the crew members' safe release by the year's end, "hopefully before Christmas".
Authorities on the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland, who are negotiating with the pirates, have sent militia to Bosaso harbour, a few nautical miles from where the vessel was held.
In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Puntland authorities were asking the pirates to surrender peacefully to the Puntland coast.
But Andrew Mwangura, the head of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the presence of the US vessels was complicating matters.
"What we are saying is that the US ships should keep a distance because their presence is complicating issues there," he said.
The escape of a South Korean sailor from the vessel shortly after the freighter was captured had also complicated talks with the pirates, Mr Mwangura added.
He said the pirates had opted for a high ransom because of the cost, type and ownership of the cargo, the value and nationality of the ship, as well as the nationality of the crew.
The Golden Nori is the last vessel remaining under the control of pirates off the Somali coast, after the Comoran-flagged cargo MV Al Marjan was released a fortnight ago.
Somali pirates, usually trained fighters with sophisticated arms and equipment, are able to operate with relative impunity off the volatile Horn of Africa.
At least 26 attacks have occurred this year off Somalia's 2,300 mile coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to advise sailors not to come closer than 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
The country has not had a functional government since the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Now the weak transitional government and its Ethiopian allies are battling an Iraq-style Islamic insurgency.
We should keel haul the lot of them.
I hope Casey Ryback is part of the tanker crew!
Long John Islam.
Dang that US Navy, complicating the esacpe of murderous, thieving pirates and their cohorts again.
easy sniper targets...
It sounds like Mr. Mwangura is part of the problem.
I think a couple of slow, inexpensive planes sporting Dillon Aero “mini-guns” would be just the ticket for these guys. I’m thinking like a baby A-10, if there is such a thing. They should be summarily drilled with extreme prejudice.
“Now the weak transitional government and its Ethiopian allies are battling an Iraq-style Islamic insurgency.”
Another rat-hole needs cleaning out.
send Jeanne
The mental imagery is quite relaxing after a stressful day.
Caligula: “I don’t care if they hate us, as long as they fear us.”
Q ships
There was a plan to make P-51 mustangs for some sort of COIN warfare. I think the plane was called the defender. Nothing ever came from it.
Maybe some SkyRaiders...now thats a airplane.
Only if he were 10 years younger and 50 pounds lighter!
Put a minigun or some rocket pods on a Predator B UAV, and have it patrol the area
“Mr. Mwangura”
I just love the way they use “Ms” in names! I think I’ll change my name to Mbogus Mpachysandra! (that’s freakin’ out spell check!)
Anything good coming from this is, um, "complicating".
How dare that guy escape from murderous thugs and pirates. Sounds like the shore negotiations are being conducted by allies of the pirates to me.
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