16 pirates died after handling substance on captured Iranian ship

World Tribune ^ | 22 Oct 08 | Unknown

[LSUfan]

LONDON — An Iranian ship captured by Somali pirates carried sealed containers of a powdery substance believed to be nuclear or chemical weapons agents.

Western intelligence agencies have been monitoring the capture of the Iran Deyanat, seized by Somali pirates on Aug. 21. The cargo ship, owned and operated by the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, or IRISL, contains sealed cargo thought to be linked to the death of 16 pirates.

[Gordon Greene]

“baby milk powder...”

From China...

[cups]

How about the CIA hiring the pirates to board the ship?

[Roccus]

Now we know why us and the Roosskies didn’t seem to want to do anything except watch.

The Russians are also keeping an eye on another hijacked ship (Ukrainian) loaded with Russian tanks and arms bound for Sudan. It's gettin' so you can't tell the players without a scorecard.

[AFreeBird]

This is a significant story that the mainstream media appears to be striving to ignore.

That way 0bama doesn't have to answer any sticky questions about what he would do about such a situation. That, and it would push Sarah's (perfectly justifiable IMHO) $150K campaign trail wardrobe story out of the limelight.

[Diogenesis]

" ....the MV Iran Deyanat is at anchor, watched closely by American, French and Russian naval units.

[Russian sources claim she] was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal
at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel.
The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China
(the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former)
and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats,
will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push
the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore. ...."

[Battle of Tours]

Talk about a win-win situation!

[Scarpetta]

Muslims don’t care who they kill as long as there’s death.

[Safetgiver]

the ship was surrounded by speedboats filled with members of a gang of Somalian pirates.... I’ll betcha.

[freema]

Pat Dollard link at #11

[AFreeBird]

Pardon me if I don’t understand why any ship in those waters goes unarmed. Seems like guys on tall deck shooting down into small boats would have an advantage.

The History Channel has had a very good show on modern piracy. The same mentality of: give the mugger what he wants so he'll go away seems part of the shipping companies plans. It's cheaper just to write off the ship, collect insurance, and move on. Or pay the ransom for the crew and move one. Then there's the issue of; a lot of merchant seaman, you wouldn't want to trust with firearms, and even if you did, there's the issue of training, command and control. Another possible course of action; hiring mercs for all the ships you have in transit through pirate infested waters gets pricey. But they are out there, those special "security forces", and they're used for "critical cargoes".

[Safetgiver]

Muslims killing Muslims..... I’ll betcha.

[Natural Law]

"How about the CIA hiring the pirates to board the ship?"

That is a very distinct possibility, but in some matters there is no operational difference between the Israeli's and the CIA.

[Safetgiver]

Anyone want to bet how many of the pirates were really IDF or Mossad agents? ... I’ll betcha. Hee, hee.

[bert]

It seems to be a synopsis of very old news with nothing new to add

[Safetgiver]

Seems a little farfetched that the Iranians would put a dirty bomb on one of their own ships and blow it up... A stolen ship, reregistered and a suicide blast is NOT farfetched. Besides, they would get the insurance from a no proof of who owned the tub explosion.

[bert]

.....How about the CIA hiring the pirates to board the ship?
.....

That is my thought as well

[DDLL]

Between the two articles the destinations are different.

In the “Death Ship” article, it says that the Russians said it was a floating dirty bomb.

In the Brit article, it says “”It was heading to Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalia’s Islamist insurgents,” two U.S. analysts, Nick Grace and Abdiweli Ali, wrote in an analysis. “

“two U.S. analysts” who might not want word to get out?.. guess I’m just a tad jaded these days regarding believeing some of these authorities.

[metmom]

Oh, well......

[yazoo]

” Suicide dirty bombers?”

Possibly, but is a suicide bomber going to turn his bomb over the pirates under threat of death?

[Taffini]

pirate ship—read