Posted on 04/15/2009 5:04:42 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2009 – Somali pirates fired on a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel south of the Gulf of Aden today, military officials reported.
Pirates attacked the motor vessel Liberty Sun with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The crew put out a distress call received by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“The pirates were not successful in their attempt to board the vessel,” said Navy Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “The USS Bainbridge, [which] was in the general vicinity, responded to ensure Liberty Sun wasn’t in peril.” The pirates had fled by the time the Bainbridge arrived.
The USS Bainbridge was involved in the rescue of Merchant Marine Capt. Richard Phillips, the master of the Maersk-Alabama, hijacked by pirates April 8. Pirates had been holding Phillips captive aboard a lifeboat.
When the Bainbridge arrived, the crew ascertained the Liberty Sun was safe and transferred a security detail aboard the merchant vessel, a Defense Department public affairs spokesman said. About 20 U.S. citizens make up the Liberty Sun’s crew. The ship is carrying food aid from World Food, CARE, World Vision and the Agricultural Cooperative Development International.
The Liberty Sun will continue to its original destination of Mombasa, Kenya, the spokesman said. The Bainbridge mission to the Liberty Sun will delay Phillips’ return to the United States. He was to join his crew in Mombasa for their flight to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., the spokesman explained, but now will travel separately.
“...the crew ascertained the Liberty Sun was safe and transferred a security detail aboard the merchant vessel...”
Security detail? Interesting.
They didn’t attack American flagged ships when Bush was prez, and they don’t attack Chinese flagged ships.
This problem would be so simple to fix...put a couple of SEAL Teams aboard a ship like that and hide their gear in the deck containers. Let them go out trolling, and when the pirates approach, start blasting.
In reality, the Navy could easily park any aviation-capable amphibious vessel they own in the Gulf of Aden, and support anti-piracy forces with Harriers and attack helicopters almost indefinitely. If there were a raid in progress, they could chase any escapees and support the raid from the air.
With the proper assets in place a joint Task Force could effectively eliminate every pirate in that entire area in a matter of weeks, or at least ensure that whomever is left standing in Somalia is too afraid to even approach the beach.
The best we can hope for is that Obama lets his nuts drop, and unleashes Bill Gates, who in turn unleashes the proper Commanders to do what really needs to be done. If this is left for State and the Hildebeest to address, welllll............
Somalia + Bomb = Solution
Somali want a cracker?
Can someone explain to me why we don’t use all the assets that are available at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti for a base of operations against the Somali Volunteer Coast Guard?
ask baH-WAAAAAAAK Obama.
theOne is not to be questioned....he was elected president dinncha know...
/s
It seems to me that Bawack might ask his cousin Railla Odinga to do something to help out, since he was responsible for installing him in the government of Kenya over the wishes of the voters, and since both these ships were delivering aid to Kenya.
How about it, Odinga? Can you help deal with the neighborhood pirates, or are you only good at burning down Christian churches with the women and children inside?
It seems to me that Q-ships - decoy merchant vessels equipped with hidden heavy weapons and crewed by Navy personnel - would be a good solution to the piracy problem, assuming the crews were authorized to kill every pirate that attempted to hijack them.
Two were attacked so we know about it....but how many more have been delivered....are on the way....and are planned....?
Where have you been?
2008
Cruise ship passengers surprised by pirate attack
MUSCAT, Oman - Passengers on a luxury cruise liner attacked by pirates in the dangerous waters between Yemen and Somalia said today they were surprised by the assailants’ boldness and described hearing the “Pop! Pop! Pop!” of the pirates’ rifles firing at the ship.
Sunday’s attack on the nearly 600-foot long American-operated M/S Nautica in the Gulf of Aden was the latest evidence that pirates have grown more aggressive, viewing almost any ship on the water as a potential target. But the attack lasted only five minutes and the ship with about 650 passengers and 400 crew members on board sped away quickly and was not seized.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-8119150,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,427301,00.html
A U.S. Navy security team fired warning shots Wednesday at two small boats approaching a navy supply ship off the coast of Somalia, Agence France-Presse reported.
“There were no reports of casualties,” Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet, told AFP.
The security team aboard USNS John Lenthall, an oiler, fired the shots after “defensive measures” failed to stop the two unmarked vessels, Christensen said.
All the warning shots hit the water, about 50 meters from the closest boat, and the vessels turned away after the shots were fired.
2006
http://hamptonroads.com/node/79611
Pirates attack 2 Navy warships from Norfolk in the Indian Ocean
A dozen suspected pirates on a small fishing boat became prisoners Saturday after they opened fire on two Norfolk-based Navy warships in the Indian Ocean.
2005
http://www.redorbit.com/news/international/296754/pirates_attack_us_cruise_ship/index.html
Pirates Attack US Cruise Ship
Posted on: Sunday, 6 November 2005, 18:00 CST
MIAMI: Pirates firing rocket-mounted grenades and machine guns tried to board a US-owned cruise ship in the Indian Ocean on Saturday but the vessel carrying more than 300 people escaped and no one was hurt, its owners said.
Men in two small boats approached the Seabourn Cruise Line ship Spirit about 160 kilometres off the Somali coast, fired on it and sought to board the 10,000-ton vessel in an apparent bid to rob the passengers and crew, cruise line spokesman Bruce Good said.
Good message in that graphic.
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