Exclusive: French warship diverted to free luxury yacht crew seized by pirates off Somalia

Debka.com ^ | April 5, 2008

[HAL9000]

The Le Ponant pleasure yacht was seized Friday in international waters opposite Somalia without passengers on route from the Seychelles to Aden Port and the Mediterranean after its first pleasure trip of the summer season in the Indian Ocean. The 32-man crew was taken hostage.

Our shipping correspondent reports that the French Le Commandant Rouen warship was diverted from NATO’s Afghanistan operation to join the Yemeni coast guard in the hunt for and rescue of the captured craft. The Le Ponant caters to 64 high-profile luxury tourists, one of three owned by Le Compagnie Des Iles du Ponant, a subsidiary of the huge Lebanese-French CMA CGM.

DEBKAfile’s sources note that the Gulf of Aden and Somali shores are rife with pirates. Last year, 24 civilian craft were commandeered by pirates. In one case, the American Navy’s USS Porter opened fire on a pirate ship threatening a Japanese tanker; in another, pirates released a Danish merchant vessel with hostages against a large ransom after holding them for two months.

[Mr. Silverback]

Remember that during our own revolution the Frogs did what they do best. When Admiral Howe’s British fleet showed up, Admiral DeGrasse FLED with his numerically superior fleet.

The British Admiral was Graves (there was an Admiral Howe in the RN during the Revolution, but he never fought de Grasse) and what you've described is quite the opposite of what actually happened.

[Mr. Silverback]

Roger that. It also should be considered that their intelligence services were just as valuable to us in the Cold War as the Brits.

[Alter Kaker]

So who is the freaking navigator on that “luxury” tour ship. Somalia- most dangerously pirate ridden seacoast on the planet + a shipload of really rich doofuses = nice ransome injection into a the local economy.

Look at a map. If you're trying to go through the Suez Canal, you can't avoid going near Somalia. It's one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The alternative is going around the Cape of Good Hope, and enduring the roaring forties in a sailboat, on a much longer (and more expensive) trip doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun.

[Enchante]

"a shipload of really rich doofuses"

Article says that the "rich doofuses" are not on board - the 'yacht' was returning from a job but only crew was onboard. Still makes you wonder how far out to sea they were .... too bad they couldn't ram the pirates.

[Mr. Silverback]

I have a book called “It Ain’t Hell, But You Can See It From Here” about the Gulf War. There’s an incident in it where an American soldier, having heard that the French rations are practically gourmet food (IIRC, the exchange rat was 3 MREs to 1 French meal, and some French troops wouldn’t trade for food at all, just militaria items like patches and weapons) is trying to negotiate with a Foreign Legion member using barely-remembered first year high school French, and the Legionairre says, “Would y’all quit that? I’m from Atlanta!”

[Mr. Silverback]

I have a book called "It Ain't Hell, But You Can See It From Here" about the Gulf War. There's an incident in it where an American soldier, having heard that the French rations are practically gourmet food (IIRC, the exchange rat was 3 MREs to 1 French meal, and some French troops wouldn't trade for food at all, just militaria items like patches and weapons) is trying to negotiate with a Foreign Legion member using barely-remembered first year high school French, and the Legionairre says, "Would y'all quit that? I'm from Atlanta!"

On edit: The french have an excellent waterborne counter-terror group called the Commandos Marine that would be even better than the Legion for this sort of work.

[Mr. Silverback]

It’s possible the pirates were operating off a mother ship. Where was she taken?

[Slump Tester]

It would have been nice if they sent something some one that would at least SCARE the pirates..

There - is that better?

[Mr. Silverback]

Thanks for that info. I should have been able to figure it out myself, but the little grey cells fail me sometimes...

[Tallguy]

The key decision was when DeGrasse decided to bring his ENTIRE fleet from the Caribbean to the Chesapeake, which the British were not expecting.

By the latter part of the Revolution the Caribbean & North America were just 2 theaters in the Anglo-French struggle. Control of the Caribbean -- economically speaking -- was the greater prize. The British 'Southern Strategy' was an attempt to seize the central position.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> It would have been nice if they sent something some one that would at least SCARE the pirates..
> There - is that better?

The French have done a fairly competent job in Africa since de-colonization from a military viewpoint. Few countries — including America — can say that.

If the Somali pirates aren’t afraid of the French it will be due to pig ignorance.

[PAR35]

Some of you make fun of Debkafile

Because it is a joke.

[Dumpster Baby]

Communicating with the pirates will be a problem.

[buffyt]

A nice shiny pink warship from France!

[webschooner]

Some of you make fun of Debkafile
Because it is a joke.

Less so than the New York Times

[PAR35]

No, the NYT is a skillful propaganda machine that has been able to hoodwink most of the population for decades. Debka comes across as a couple of high schoolers having fun in the basement.

[marktwain]

The French military is not incompetent. In fact, they are excellent.

---

The Canadian military is another excellent, though small, force.

[grey_whiskers]

The difference?

Pirates hoist the Jolly Roger.

French ships hoist the White Flag (except when attacking Green peace...)

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

I agree.

But just for humor's sake, click here.

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

Oh, and scroll down.

Cheers!