Posted on 04/11/2009 8:35:25 AM PDT by BarnacleCenturion
Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew on board, reports say.
Maritime industry sources say the tug, which sails under an Italian flag, was towing two barges at the time of the attack, at 1100 local time (0800 GMT).
The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking.
Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster".
The pirates said they hoped to transfer Capt Richard Phillips from a lifeboat to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area.
He is being held by four pirates hundreds of kilometres off Somalia.
In other developments:
- Sailors on a Panama-flagged bulk carrier repulsed a pirate attack with water hoses. Nato officials on a nearby Portuguese warship said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin
- On Friday, one Frenchman and two pirates were killed in a rescue operation by French troops on another vessel captured off Somalia. Four others, including a child, were freed from the yacht
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Agreed.
To what can we attribute this?
1. Consolidation of media outlets (broadcasters bought out by big corporations).
2. The Internet (which gives many people a sense of tunnel vision, search rather than browse).
3. Death of newspapers (related to 1 and 2, see above).
4. Lack of a civic culture.
5. Add more. Your thoughts?
In the link I gave you, Industrial Shipping Enterprises of Connecticut says the Biscaglia is their vessel. I guess they are mistaken?
Believe that if you must, but it's not true.
I guess you missed the election results and the approval ratings.
I would certainly hope you give our professional special forces a little credit for being better than a few thugs - even if they are packing heat. As others have pointed out (and with respect to post #67 in particular): if we were allowed to act, this would be over.... quickly. And then nobody would screw with the United States.
Now is there some risk? Yeah, there is -- but the captain has already shown himself willing to accept some risk: first by allowing himself to be the fall guy to protect his crew, and then by trying to escape without any support.
btt
Yep, the pirates have taken a second US vessle....why is that you ask?? BECAUSE NO ONE IS STOPPING THEM.........obama....change.....hope........GOD HELP US.
All I’m saying is that this is not a US owned ship:
“The Biscaglia is managed by Singapore-based Ishima and owned by Winged Foot Shipping in the Marshall Islands and was crewed by 25 Indians and two Bangladeshis who are believed to be still onboard.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/28/somalia.pirates.chemical.tanker/index.html
I guessed you missed the voter fraud, MSM treachery and pushing of public opinion, and all of the conservatives and Republicans who refused to vote for McRINO.
And, since when do these polling organizations really tap into what people in flyover country think? Like I trust those numbers - NOT.
Iowa is now the official Homosexual Mecca.
Apologies to you and all for picking nits here, but it’s a pet peeve of mine when people mess up a saying...
It’s “deer in headlights”, not “deer in a headlock”.
Steven Segal was on a talk show once and he said “didn’t have a road to hoe”... Cringe... It’s “ROW to hoe”.
Again, apologies for my personal obsession with sayings.
What about this plan and I’m serious....
An American plane flies close enough with a banner message to the American Hostage to jump from the boat again. Meanwhile, our Navy seals would be close enough to detonate the pirate ship and blow it out of the water. The pirates would NOT be able to read the banner written in English, so in essence it would be a stealth operation between the seals at the ready to blow the boat and our American Hostage.
I don’t know....just thinking outside the box.
It is largely being ignored by the MSM. They are treating it like a local bank robbery/hostage situation rather than terrorism. Nobody in the MSM is knocking down Obama's door asking him what the hell he is doing about this. They are too busy trying to blame the economy on Bush.
Ah yesd, let’s keep our idiomatic expressions pure. Enough jiving up the English don’tchaknow.
Might work. Depends where they have him in the lifeboat. Like I said, i’s like a giant lozenge. Completely covered over, with only a hatch and a couple of porthole windows. He might not be able to see anything at all. As I understand it, these modern lifecraft have very sophisticated electronics in them too.
He could probably hear a bullhorn though.
Except the news is wrong about that.
Somewhere in the original 800+ post thread is info about a hijacking that didn’t end well, either for the hijackers or for some of the Marines who went in after them. Can someone help me out with the reference?
Disarming the vessels is like disarming college students on campuses such as Virginia Tech. If it were my vessel, it would be done covertly.
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