Posted on 11/24/2008 6:35:58 PM PST by MyTwoCopperCoins
(CNN) -- Five Indian sailors who were among the crew of a Japanese-owned cargo ship hijacked by pirates and held for two months before a ransom was paid said Monday their captivity was "total desperation."
"I wish that no one else ever has to go through this -- (hijackers) are not human but rather animals," said Alister Fernandes, one of the sailors, at a news conference in Mumbai, India. They arrived in Mumbai on Monday after several days of rest and medical and psychological treatment following the release of their ship on November 16. The Stolt Valor, a chemical tanker, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen on September 15 and was one of several vessels hijacked in recent weeks by pirates.
Navies from various countries including the United States and India have sent warships to the area in an effort to protect cargo ships and thwart the growing wave of pirate activity off the Horn of Africa. Authorities blame many of the attacks on pirates based in Somalia.
"We were always ... all 24 hours we were on gunpoint," said Fernandes. "We were all staying on the bridge (in the) navigation area. All 22 crew members were sleeping there, eating there. Only for shower and all, only two people were allowed -- two people will go, then they come up, two (more) people will go." Another crew member, Naved Burandkar, said the hijacking occurred when pirates came behind the Stolt Valor on a boat and fired rocket-propelled grenades. "They were continuously firing (at) our ship," he said. "They boarded our ship. They were firing ... nobody was going to understand what's happening so you can imagine what the situation was
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Could be. I have to admit that despite having a few Indian business associates and friends, Goa is a place (Indian State) I know little about. Am reading up on it on Wikipedia now... :-)
Alister and Fernando are common names in India, among the Goan Christians.
There are almost zero US merchant ships operating in that region.
Okay, these are huge ships. Why not just have a guy on board the big ship with a RPG and then if they try coming up with their little boats lob a few their way?
I just found out I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve in Goa!
Yes, the indigenous ACs should better serve India’s needs, eventually. Frigates can handle individual pirates on the high seas, as India recently proved. But I’m not confident they can remove their land bases. I don’t know how they are equipped for surface bombardment. Somehow I don’t see India’s frigates pulling a Stephen Decatur, although I’d be delighted to be proven wrong on that. With a carrier they could apply Clinton’s anti-Serb strategy which would work if they were willing to take the PR hit. Although I’m still fond of hitting the pirates through their overlooked and vulnerable rear; interdict the khat supply. They’re all addicted, the plant only has a few day shelf life and it all has to be imported, mainly from Kenya. The PR would be much better and the bad guys would probably be more annoyed than if their nominally worthless neighborhood was destroyed.
Hey, that’s pretty cool. From what I read yesterday, it doesn’t sound like too bad a place. Rather interesting, in fact.
Problem is not the lack of equipment. If its just a matter of hitting pirate harbors India's long range maritime aircrafts namely the IL-38s, Kamov helos and Tu-142 bears (the same used by Russians to scare UK) with ATGMs can do the jobs. Plus add to that the surface mounted Pj-10 brahmos missiles on ships. Not just pirates even the Somali navy would not be able to withstand a fullscale IN attack.
The real problem here is whether India would be willing to go that far with the UN, EU, international laws and the rest of the world breathing down their necks. Same applies for the US.
I've got a problem with international "laws" that give pirates any "rights." We need to revert to the legal status quo ante liberalism. Laws should deter crime. The death penalty is a good thing and saves lives, especially when guilt is obvious. Like caught in the act piracy. People need to be more afraid of the legal consequences of supporting piracy than of the pirates. Those openly making money supporting the pirates are guilty of conspiracy and legally deserve the same end as the physical pirates. Any hostages lost in the process are the sole responsibility of the pirates and are martyrs preventing greater future losses. The UN can go blow hot hair, which is all it ever does anywhere. The EU can shut up, stop paying pirates tribute and start doing something about the problem once a better solution has been demonstrated. Just as happened 200 years ago. And I suspect India is more motivated now than a week ago.
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