Posted on 09/27/2008 6:02:31 PM PDT by george76
A U.S. destroyer off the coast of Somalia closed in Saturday on a hijacked Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and ammunition, watching it to ensure the pirates who seized it do not try to remove any cargo or crew.
Nikolsky said the ship was anchored near the Somali town of Hobyo and that two other apparently hijacked ships were nearby. Hobyo is in the central region of Mudug, south of Puntland. It is a natural port and does not have any facilities.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
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I recieved this email from my brother this morning..
I will not tell what ship he is on but this is what he said as of this morn..
We are now in pirate country, 8 hrs ahead of you (time). Its like going back to the Wild Wild West where anything goes. These guys have no fear trying to take down a merchant vessel (big ones) using small boats and machine guns. It still amazes me how they climb on board and the ship cant get away. I guess most of the crews are small, defenseless (no guns), scared and the ships are slow. Anyway, they come out off shore, capture them, take them to areas close to the beach, anchor them, then ransom the ship/crew to the company for $$ in exchange for release. Its crazy.
Its really interesting here, were ready to rock and roll if needed. They have no idea what awaits them nor our resolve on this one (right now they only see one ship bearing down on them). The USS Howard was already in the area patrolling when the event occurred, since then things have changed
In this particular case, I think they bit off more than they can chew not knowing what was onboard. Well see what happens but for now the waiting game continues
Take Care dont worry about me, my guns are much bigger! Just kidding
We might let the Russians send in the Spetsnaz. There will be no holds barred and all of the terrorists would die.
And Condi will be saying again "we're sending the Death Star to deliver humanitarian aid to Naboo" (Somalia).
Seriously, I wonder why all the warships already deployed there take no action against the pirates?
Apart from sending in spetsnaz or whatever why not organising convoys, deploy naval infantry to fight aboard the captured ships? The issue of hostages taken? How does it differ from a rescue operation inside a plane or a building?
Probably, there's little experience with naval hostages' rescue operation, but why the WWII style convoys won't do? Unlike with German U-boats, smaller ships can do the job.
With certain coop from the Somali government some world power's troops can take control over the major sea ports in the region - at least the ones where cargo ships can moor?
The radioactive “sand” story didn’t quite work - it seems more likely that the sand would be used to set off sensors and provide cover for a bigger operation.
Yes, and George Bush’s State Department has brought over Imams from Saudi Arabia, to teach Muslims in the US the “correct path.”
George Bush has been an unmitigated disaster in so many ways, it’s impossible to count.
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