Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fox News
The captain of a chemical tanker who was shot when his ship was hijacked earlier this week has died, Sky News reported a Somali pirate as saying.
“The captain of the chemical tanker died last night from gunshot wounds he got during the hijack,” a pirate who gave his name as Mohamed said.
“The ship is headed for Haradheere with the dead captain.”
The a Virgin-Islands owned chemical tanker MV Theresa VIII was hijacked earlier this week with its 28 North Korean crew members.
The ship was sailing to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but had turned around after being seized near the Indian Ocean archipelago.
I wonder if tinpot potbelly tyrant Kim will take exception to his ship being hijacked - especially if it’s full of weapons bound for Iran or someplace like that.
Don’t think that he’s got much of a “Navy” but his gunboats are capable of shooting up and capturing the USS Pueblo and threatening the ROK Navy (to little avail, apparently) - maybe he can send a few of them down to teach these pirates a lesson.
...Then again, maybe he’s not all that stupid, in spite of being crazy.
I’m surprised that the NOrks don’t arm their crews a little better. Wonder why the Somalis shot up a perfectly good hostage.
Did he pull his rusty old Tokarev on them, I wonder?
I’ve long been offering an old solution; “Letters of Marque and Reprisal”. The rest of the World abandoned the practice but America never formally revoked it that I’m aware of.
From what maritime history I’ve read, it seems to have worked pretty well for a while there - although sorting out the good guys - “Privateers” - from the “Pirates” could occasionally become a bit of a challenge.
It seems that some of the old Salts played whatever role seemed most expedient for them when opportunity hove in sight.
“Aaarrrggggh, me hearties!!!” &}P^{(~