Posted on 12/09/2008 9:20:14 AM PST by george76
Somali pirates say they have thwarted an apparent revolt by the crew of a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship...
sailors of the MV Faina tried to "harm" two of their captors.
The ship is carrying 33 tanks and other weaponry and was seized by pirates two and half months ago.
"Some crew members on the Ukrainian ship are misbehaving," the pirate said.
"They tried to harm two of our gunmen late Monday. This is unacceptable, they risk serious punitive measures.
"Somalis know how to live and how to die at the same time, but the Ukrainians' attempt to take violent action is misguided."
He claimed that two of the pirates were taken by surprise when a group of crew members attacked them.
Another report of the incident, by Russian Ren TV, quoted one of the pirates as saying that the crew responsible would be "seriously punished".
Meanwhile, the British commander in charge of the EU's anti-piracy mission ...Rear Admiral Phillip Jones says ...
The task force - codenamed operation Atalanta and working under a UN mandate - is not allowed to board seized ships or to free crews held hostage.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
“Bridge Too Far”- US Major Julian Cook, 82nd Airborne, to British tank Commander regarding his stopped column while allied troops without support are being killed and captured by the Germans:
“ Must You Always Do Everything By The Book?!! “
I prefer "Maritime Activists" myself.
L
Ships carrying (or simply representing, even empty) substantial stealable wealth need to get more serious about anti-piracy measures, such as (among others),
- marines (not USMC, but still, professional ship-based men)
- sidearms
- high-tech security, such as coded doors/ portals
- booby traps
Also, as someone else on FR said recently, nations already having a sizeable navy should consider “Q ships” — ships that look like vulnerable, tempting quarry but in fact are heavily armed/ armored, fast, “pirate killers” with elite military crews who are perfectly content to shoot armed pirates who do not immediate surrender.
I thought I heard that the shippers thought it would escalate the violence. They are wrong, of course. It only encourages it.
The transit time by Somali is short : a few days.
Collecting some retired seals/ marines for the trip should be cheap and easy.
Like collecting and dropping off a pilot in a port. The tanker does not even need to stop as the transfer is done while under way.
Cheap insurance and nice work.
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