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Plague of Somali pirates continues. 5 ships taken over the weekend.

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  • Pirates hijack four more ships

    Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

    CNN) -- Pirates off the coast of Somalia seized two freighters Tuesday, proving they remain a force to contend with just days after the U.S. Navy dramatically rescued an American captain held by other pirates.

    First, pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday hijacked the MV Irene EM, a 35,000-ton Greek-owned bulk carrier, according to a NATO spokesman and the European Union's Maritime Security Center.

    The crew of the Greek carrier was thought to be unhurt and ships have been warned to stay clear of the area for fear of further attack, the Security Center said.

    Later Tuesday, pirates on four skiffs seized the 5,000-ton MV Sea Horse, a Lebanese-owned and Togo-flagged vessel, said Cmdr. Chris Davies of NATO's Maritime Component Command Headquarters in Northwood, England.

    Details about the ship and its crew weren't immediately available.

    NATO has an ongoing anti-piracy mission off Somalia called Operation Allied Protector. The mission involves four ships covering more than a million square miles, Davies said.

    A U.S.-led international naval task force, Combined Task Force-151, is also patrolling in the region.

    ...

    The two freighters seized Tuesday are the third and fourth vessels hijacked in two days off the Somali coast.

    Pirates on Monday hijacked two Egyptian fishing boats carrying a total of between 18 and 24 people, the Egyptian Information Ministry told CNN.

    The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is working to end the hijacking, the ministry said.

    Egyptian boats are known to use Somali waters illegally for fishing, taking advantage of the lawless state of the country and the lack of enforcement of its maritime boundaries.

    Those who have tracked pirate activity in Somalia say it started in the 1980s, when the pirates claimed they were trying to stop the rampant illegal fishing and dumping that continues to this day off the Somali coast.

    Piracy accelerated after the fall of the Somali government in the early 1990s and began to flourish after shipping companies started paying ransoms. Those payments started out being in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions.

    Some experts say companies are simply making the problem worse by paying the pirates.

    Comment


    • didn't they have a famine not too terribly long ago?
      I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.
      [Brandon Roderick? You mean Brock's Toadie?][Hanged from Yggdrasil]

      Comment


      • They still are. One of the things the Maersk Alabama was carrying was food for Somilia.

        We need to start buying Sea Fighters (pictured below). Top speed: 90 kpm [70 in rough seas]. It's a highly flexible ship, with moduals that can be put in or taken out as needed. A small flight deck on top for choppers. It'd be an excellent pirate hunter.
        Attached Files

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        • I'm willing to place a bet that no more than 25 more large merchant ships are cptured by years end...
          You just wasted six ... no, seven ... seconds of your life reading this sentence.

          Comment


          • Arrg, the Clinton wench has drawn her cutlass and is a'wadin' into the fray!

            US unveils plan to tackle piracy

            US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has unveiled a four-point plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

            She said an expanded international effort was needed, as well as freezing pirates' assets, and plugging gaps in the shipping industry's own defences.

            Improving the situation in Somalia itself was also key, she said.

            Pirate attacks have increased in the past few days, including on US vessels, despite anti-piracy patrols by the US and other navies.

            The US Navy shot dead three pirates a few days ago in the rescue of a US cargo ship captain who had been taken hostage from his own ship.

            The captain was unhurt and a fourth pirate was captured.

            The French navy captured 11 pirates on Wednesday after intercepting a "mother ship" or command vessel about 550 miles (900km) off the coast of Kenya.

            'No concessions'

            Mrs Clinton said: "We may be dealing with a 17th-Century crime, but we need to bring 21st Century assets to bear."

            Her four-point plan includes sending an envoy to the Somali donors conference in Brussels on 23 April to work on plans to improve the situation in Somalia.

            She said the US would work with the Contact Group on Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to expand the multinational response to piracy.

            She called for states to take responsibility for prosecuting and imprisoning captured pirates, as well as working for the release of captured vessels.

            Despite the release of a Greek cargo ship and its 24 crew on Wednesday, several ships and their crews remain in the hands of pirates.

            She also said the international group had to consider ways to track and freeze pirate assets.

            "It is time to eliminate the financial payoff of piracy," she told reporters.

            "We will also reiterate to all concerned the US policy of making no concessions or ransom payments to hostage takers."

            The State Department will set up meetings with members of the Somali Transitional Federal Government and regional leaders.

            "We must press authorities within Somalia to take action against pirates operating from bases within their territory," Mrs Clinton said.

            Making clear the threat was not just an issue for governments to resolve, she said the shipping industry had a joint responsibility.

            "I have directed the [State] Department to work with shippers and the insurance industry to address gaps in their self-defence measures."

            Comment


            • Clinton
              I love being beaten by women - Lorizael

              Comment


              • Mrs Clinton said: "We may be dealing with a 17th-Century crime, but we need to bring 21st Century assets to bear."
                Something tells me she doesn't mean bombs or any other kind of weapon.
                I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
                For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

                Comment


                • Neutron bombs
                  12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
                  Stadtluft Macht Frei
                  Killing it is the new killing it
                  Ultima Ratio Regum

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by DinoDoc View Post
                    Something tells me she doesn't mean bombs or any other kind of weapon.
                    She's talking about FRICKIN LASERS.
                    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                    Comment


                    • What structures do they have worth preserving?
                      I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
                      For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Asher View Post
                        She's talking about FRICKIN LASERS.
                        Attached to dolphins?
                        I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
                        For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

                        Comment




                        • +



                          =

                          21st century weapon

                          Edit: Precisely.
                          "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                          Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                          Comment


                          • What if we put our own pirates in the field? There's a private security firm I've heard of which recently lost a major contract. I'm sure they could figure out some way to re-deploy to sea.
                            "I say shoot'em all and let God sort it out in the end!

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by DinoDoc View Post
                              What structures do they have worth preserving?
                              Fishing boats.
                              12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
                              Stadtluft Macht Frei
                              Killing it is the new killing it
                              Ultima Ratio Regum

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Dr Strangelove View Post
                                What if we put our own pirates in the field? There's a private security firm I've heard of which recently lost a major contract. I'm sure they could figure out some way to re-deploy to sea.
                                Somalia is not well known for its merchant fleet.

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