Free Republic

EU naval forces have forced back pirates raiding a Greek oil tanker off Somalia, the Greek government says. Pirates in speedboats abandoned efforts to board the tanker when a frigate, jet fighter and helicopter approached, the Greek merchant marine ministry reports. Earlier France's navy said one of its ships had seized two suspected pirate boats and was holding eight suspects. The International Maritime Bureau says increased naval patrols have sharply reduced the number of pirate attacks. The Greek-flagged Kriti Episkopi had been en route to Iran when it came under attack twice by pirates, officials say. The captain alerted the...

Somali pirates seized an Egyptian cargo ship and its 28 crewmembers on Thursday while a Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being hijacked in the new year's first attacks by pirates in the dangerous Gulf of Aden. Fifteen armed pirates snatched the Egyptian vessel, called Blue Star, after the ship exited the Red Sea and entered the gulf, carrying a cargo of 6,000 tons of fertilizer, according to Egyptian Deputy Foreign minister, Ahmed Rizq. In the other attack Thursday, a Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker carrying a full load of oil when it was attacked by...

"Operation Atalanta" is the name of the EU's first combat mission against pirates. At a naval base in Djibouti, the German frigate Karlsruhe is standing ready to join the fight. .... It is 3,680 tons of gray-painted German steel, and its armaments include guided missile launchers midship, a 76-mm cannon at the bow and two steel-helmeted men on the machine-gun platform. Red Christmas decorations hang in the windows and glitter in the African sun. The vessel is the flagship of the fight against international piracy being waged by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. But the question remains: Can a...

As a young Navy swift boat commander in Vietnam, Senator John F. Kerry was no stranger to the perils of hot pursuit in combat. He was awarded a Silver Star for beaching his boat after a rocket attack and racing ashore to chase down and kill a Viet Cong fighter armed with a rocket launcher. Nearly 40 years later, as incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry favors using hot pursuit against pirates in the waters off Somalia, but urges a cautious approach before US officials consider sending American forces to chase them ashore. Kerry plans committee hearings...

Nairobi, Kenya —- There’s at least one job these days that’s recession-proof, if you can handle shark-infested seas, outrun some of the world’s most powerful navies and keep your cool when your hostages get antsy. A pirate’s life in Somalia isn’t for everyone. However, nothing comes easily in one of the poorest and most unstable countries on Earth, and when you consider the dearth of career options for Somalis on land, a pirate’s life starts to look more than cushy by comparison. “Is there any Somali who can earn a million dollars for any business? We get millions of dollars...

Chinese Navy sets sail for anti-piracy mission off Somalia (Xinhua) Updated: 2008-12-26 15:13 SANYA - The Chinese naval fleet set sail at 1:50 p.m. on Friday from a port here in the southernmost island province of Hainan for Somalia. The ships will take part in an escort mission against piracy. The warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy, decorated by colored ribbons and flowers, were unmoored at the military port by crew members in white naval uniforms who saluted the crowds who saw them off. Two destroyers, DDG-169 Wuhan and DDG-171 Haikou, and the supply ship Weishanhu from the South...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A German military helicopter chased away pirates on Thursday who were trying to board an Egyptian ship off the coast of Somalia. One of the ship's crew was shot in the attack. The bulk carrier with 31 crew was passing through the Gulf of Aden on its way to Asia when gun-toting pirates in a speedboat began pursuing it, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center. A passing ship alerted the Kuala Lumpur-based bureau, which asked a multinational naval coalition force in the area to help, said Choong.

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration inherited a mess in strategic Somalia and may be leaving President-elect Barack Obama with a worse one. The explosion of piracy off Somalia's coast is an attention-grabbing product of internal chaos in the Horn of Africa country, and a problem that will outlast the administration's success this past week in winning U.N. backing for possible pirate-hunting raids on Somali territory. "We have a framework in place now to deal with this issue, but it's not going to be a very easy one," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. Wood meant that there is more to...

Keeping low to avoid being shot, a sailor lights a Molotov cocktail before throwing it at Somali pirates trying to board his ship. He and his crewmates were expecting trouble and had prepared dozens of the makeshift grenades to repel an invasion. Their cargo vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Aden by pirates using speedboats and armed with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.

On the same day Somali gunmen seized two more ships, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of the Horn of Africa country. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on hand to push through the resolution, one of President George W. Bush's last major foreign policy initiatives. Rice said the resolution will have a significant impact, especially since "pirates are adapting to the naval presence in the Gulf of Aden by traveling further" into sea lanes not guarded by warships sent by the U.S. and...

I was scanning your site, like I do often, and I noticed on the issue of piracy some short comments about using firearms to ward off pirates. One good source of info on modern piracy that many who own yachts may not have ever read is an American magazine called, "Soldier of Fortune". "Soldier of Fortune" magazine, founded and edited by a retired US Army special forces colonel, is known as the only publication to have had a reporter on the ground the entire time during the Russian war in Afghanistan. This magazine is of extreme interest to the yachting...

On March 8, 2005 the sailing vessel Mahdi, Captain Rod Nowlin, was attacked by armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden. It has been verified by sources in Military Intelligence (not identified) that it was an attempt by terrorists to kidnap American citizens. Two of the perpetraters were captured when they went to a hospital for treatment of gunshots wounds. I have never been able to access the report. For some unknown reason it was classified "secret". Maybe the perps ended up in Gitmo as guests of the military. If any Vets or active duty people who read this have...

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...

NEW DELHI:  In another successful anti-piracy operation, Navy warship on Saturday repulsed an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden and nabbed 23 Somali and Yemeni sea brigands, in a show of resolve to weed out the menace that affected maritime trade in the region. The pirates on two speed boats had surrounded the merchant vessel flying the Ethiopian flag around noon, when INS Mysore warship intervened and warded off the attack, Navy spokesperson said. The pirates had fired at the merchant vessel with their small arms, when it sent out a rescue call and the Indian...

Some of the eight suspected Somali pirates listen as a translator Mohammed Ali Mohammed translates the proceedings of the day at the Law Courts in Mombasa Kenya Thursday Dec. 11, 20008, during the hearing of their case where they are charged with hijacking a cargo ship along Somali waters. The hearing of the eight Somali suspects was adjourned until January 14th,15th and 16th after the state pleaded for more time to go through the suspects files.. (AP Photo) MANAMA — Days before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to ask the United Nations to authorize "all necessary measures" against piracy...

December 11, 2008 "Somali Pirates are a Ridiculous Sham" Column at http://tableofwisdom.com/Daily__Quick_Thoughts.html

Somali pirates set up "agencies" on three continents December 10, 2008, 7:43 PM From Tuesday, Dec. 9, at least four British, French and Greek warships, two reconnaissance planes and 150 marines will escort merchant ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa waters. This force will expand to 6 naval vessels, 3 aircraft and 1,000 marines. But meanwhile, military and counter-terrors sources report, the pirates have set up a land-based intelligence-financial-logistic logistic network in the Persian Gulf, East Africa and… northern Europe. Royal Navy Rear Adm. Phillip Jones will oversee the EU mission from the RAF Northwood...

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Ahmed Dahir Suleyman is cagey as he talks about the global network that funds and supports piracy off the coast of Somalia. "We have negotiators, translators and agents in many areas ... let me say across the world," said Suleyman, a pirate in the harbor town of Eyl, where scores of hijacked ships are docked.

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...

A European fleet of six warships commanded by a British Admiral has taken charge of anti-piracy patrols in the waters off Somalia. The new force, which carries at least two spotter planes for aerial reconnaissance, takes over from a Nato-led flotilla to lead international military efforts to thwart pirates who have attacked almost 100 vessels in the Gulf of Aden this year. Codenamed Operation Atalanta, the EU deployment is headed by Vice-Adml Philip Jones of Britain's Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, and includes warships from France, Spain and Greece. "This operation under British command, I hope will begin to establish...