Indian navy captures 23 pirates: Pirates threatened a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, navy says

MSNBC / The Associated Press ^ | December 13, 2008

[2ndDivisionVet]

NEW DELHI - The Indian navy captured 23 pirates who threatened a merchant vessel Saturday in the lawless waters of the Gulf of Aden, where dozens of ships have come under attack by gunmen in recent months.

An Indian navy ship, the INS Mysore, was escorting merchant ships in the region near Somalia when it received a distress call from seamen on board the MV Gibe, who said they were being attacked by two boats.

The distress call said the pirates were firing as their boats closed in on the Gibe, according to a statement from the Indian government. The pirate boats attempted to escape when they saw the Mysore and its helicopter, but were boarded by Indian marine commandos, the statement said.

The pirates had "a substantial cache of arms and equipment," including seven AK-47 assault rifles, three machine guns, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and other weapons, the statement said. They also found a GPS receiver and other equipment.

The pirates were from Somalia and Yemen, two countries on the coast of the Gulf of Aden.

The Gibe was flying an Ethiopian flag, the statement said, but there was no further information about the ship.

Last month, India's navy drew criticism after sinking a Thai fishing trawler that had been commandeered hours earlier by pirates. At least one Thai crew member was killed in the attack, which the Indian navy had originally announced by saying it had sunk a pirate "mother ship." The Indian navy defended its actions, saying it had fired in self-defense.

Somali pirates have become increasingly brazen, and recently seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil. Many of the vessels are taken to pirate-controlled regions in Somalia, where they are held for ransom.

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

Do you really believe the capabilities of a couple of rag-tag Somalis with AK-47’s in rubber dhingies are beyond that of the world’s major sea-powers?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy sits and does nothing.

[bygolly]

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy sits and does nothing.

Frankly that's fine with me. Maybe if these other countries get their nose bloodied a bit, maybe they'll better respect us for the heavy lifting we are always called upon to do.

Of course we are not doing nothing. A year ago November, my son's ship, the USS Kearsarge, was in the Indian Ocean when the pirates where causing problems then. My son recalls the time they were not in the area of the pirates but quickly steamed into the area at night. At daybreak, he said you could tell from the radio chatter that the pirates were sh**ting bricks when they suddenly saw US warships in the area. They quickly hightailed it toward land.

After that incident, his ship was diverted to Bangaldesh to aid in disaster relief due to Typhoon Sidr. His ship was the first to arrive to offer aid, arriving in Bangaladesh on Thanksgiving Day.

[wolfcreek]

“Sorry — I hate these guys :)”

Hope you didn’t gather that from my *bacon* comment.

LOL!

[swarthyguy]

Yesterday’s update from ORBAT.

The Indian missile destroyer came to the aid of an Ethiopian merchantman under attack by pirates. Indian naval commandos dropped by helicopter responded to the SOS. The pirates are evenly divided between Yemenis and Somalis; as far as we are concerned, this is not a good sign that the Yemenis have also decided to join the game. The Mysore replaced the frigate Tabar on anti-piracy patrol. Several pirates escaped, indicating this lot of bandits was prepared for a fight. The prisoners will be delivered to the “appropriate authorities”. We say the proper authority is King Neptune.

As far as we know, the Thai businessperson who claimed the pirate mother ship Tabar had sunk was his innocent fishing trawler is out of the news.

Question: why are other navies not being as aggressive as the Indians in pursuing the pirates? The Indian Navy has had one warship on station for the past two months but has already whacked a bunch of pirates.

Meanwhile, US Secretary Defense says the individuals who are pirate leaders must be identified before they can be targeted. So here we are, back again to the high-tech videogames to which the American military has become addicted. Guys, guys, what about getting your feet wet and doing some fighting in person? This taking out individuals is not going to work. It has to be a secondary tactic.

[swarthyguy]

>>my suspiscions

What are they?

[Cuttnhorse]

This can be stopped so easily...I must be missing something.

The Blackwater guys have offerred to supply by contract small well-armed crews on merchant ships...I am sure all this pirate nonsense would end in about two-months if the pirates started bobbing face-down around the Indian Ocean.