Somalian pirates seize ship carrying military tanks

[Siege]

Pirates off the coast of Somalia have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying T-72 tanks, an official has said.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

A report from Russia's Interfax news agency said earlier that the ship had a cargo of about 30 tanks, as well as spare parts for armoured vehicles.

There has been a recent surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia.

The country has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading to a collapse of law and order both on land and at sea.

Somali pirates are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships in the base in Eyl, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

It was not immediately clear where the Ukrainian ship had been taken.

Speed boats

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said the captain of the Faina cargo ship had reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men on Thursday afternoon.

Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, confirmed to the BBC that the ship was carrying a cargo of tanks.

The tanks were due to be transported by road from Kenya to South Sudan.

Insurgents in Somalia, not known to have links to the pirates, are currently battling a combination of government troops, their Ethiopian allies and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu and other parts of southern Somalia.

The US has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti and has carried out several air strikes against the Islamist insurgents, accusing them of sheltering al-Qaeda operatives.

Flourishing industry

Pirates have seized dozens of ships from the major shipping routes near Somalia's coast in recent months.

Pirate "mother ships" travel far out to sea and launch smaller boats to attack passing vessels, sometimes using rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).


Authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland say they are powerless to confront the pirates, who have been growing in strength.

In Eyl, where ships are held for ransom, a flourishing local industry has developed.

Last week France circulated a draft resolution urging states to deploy naval vessels and aircraft to combat piracy in the area.

France has intervened twice to free French sailors kidnapped by pirates, with commandos freeing two people whose boat had been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month.

After an earlier raid in April, six arrested pirates were handed over to French authorities for trial.

International navies have been escorting humanitarian deliveries to Somalia, where a third of the population needs food aid.

Piracy has been a popular Somali pasttime for some time now, but I seem to notice that either a lot more ships are getting hijacked over the past few weeks, or it's just getting more media attention. First there was that French yacht (to which France responded the way it did to previous incidents of piracy... Namely by sending commandos to blow up the pirates), then there was the incident with the USNS John Lenthall (yeah, attacking a USN supply ship, real smart there guys), and a Google News search turns up at least another half a dozen ships getting hijacked off the coast of Somalia over the past month or so.

You'd expect the international reaction would be more forceful...

[White Haven]

So much for that nice, shiny UN authorization for naval action inside Somali waters...not that that wasn't redundant anyway, but it's there. Heck, the various navies of the world have been doing...not a lot, since they don't have a role in the nice LAND war on terror. Mmm...someone tell Bush that pirates are frightening?

[K. A. Pital]

Somalians are idiots. They finally caused enough ire, and Soviet Navy (erm, Russian Navy) is poised to teach them another lesson like the ones we did in the 1980s. "Neustrashimy" frigate will be sent to Somalian coast to patrol it and destroy piracy.

[Colonel Olrik]

Somalians are idiots. They finally caused enough ire, and Soviet Navy (erm, Russian Navy) is poised to teach them another lesson like the ones we did in the 1980s. "Neustrashimy" frigate will be sent to Somalian coast to patrol it and destroy piracy.

Right now they have 30 tanks. If they managed to pirate, say, a Russian frigate wouldn't that make Somalia a local superpower?

[K. A. Pital]

If they managed to pirate, say, a Russian frigate wouldn't that make Somalia a local superpower?

With a "Neustrashimy"? They'd be the kings of pirates. The thing carries so much various weaponry and a freaking helicopter.

They could sink most African "fleets" if they wanted. Hell, they could even try chances against South Africa or Egypt, and if they're lucky, they can play "fleet in being" with the frigate playing Tirpitz' role

[Aratech]

Somalians are idiots. They finally caused enough ire, and Soviet Navy (erm, Russian Navy) is poised to teach them another lesson like the ones we did in the 1980s. "Neustrashimy" frigate will be sent to Somalian coast to patrol it and destroy piracy.

Right now they have 30 tanks. If they managed to pirate, say, a Russian frigate wouldn't that make Somalia a local superpower?

While I've got an image of the Somalis strapping the tanks to their craft and using them like impromptu battleship guns (something I'm certain is horribly impractical), how the hell do they take a Russian frigate?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

While I've got an image of the Somalis strapping the tanks to their craft and using them like impromptu battleship guns (something I'm certain is horribly impractical), how the hell do they take a Russian frigate?

I think the mere act of firing the gun, would put these makeshift craft in danger of capsizing.

That aside, where was this cargo ship heading?

[Siege]

They don't... I'm reasonably sure even if the Russian navy crew were a bunch of bumbling, Police Academy level incompetents (which they most likely aren't... The nineties can't have been that bad ) they'd still be easily able to fend off even the most bad-ass Somalian incarnation of Eddie Teach. Simply by virtue of, you know, the Somalis being armed with speedboats and small-arms, and the Russians having a frigate stuffed with fancy missiles, loads of machineguns, and a big-ass gun.

[Themightytom]

Somalians are idiots. They finally caused enough ire, and Soviet Navy (erm, Russian Navy) is poised to teach them another lesson like the ones we did in the 1980s. "Neustrashimy" frigate will be sent to Somalian coast to patrol it and destroy piracy.

Right now they have 30 tanks. If they managed to pirate, say, a Russian frigate wouldn't that make Somalia a local superpower?

Was their fuel and amunition for teh tanks or are they just massive paperweights.

[Soontir C'boath]

That aside, where was this cargo ship heading?

Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The second goddamn sentence of the article.

With the waters over there clearly abundant with piracy, you'd think they would pay for a good security detail rather than the ransom to get their ship back.

[Kodiak]

You guys, come one! Everyone knows that Somalia is a utopia because it has no government involvement. It's a true Voluntaryist society. All anyone has to do to get the pirates to stop is to take their business to competing pirates and the free market will correct itself, sheesh

Oh, sorry, I guess it's been a while since Vollyball posted on here.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The second goddamn sentence of the article.

With the waters over there clearly abundant with piracy, you'd think they would pay for a good security detail rather than the ransom to get their ship back.

Yes, but it didn't say whether or not it was meant for the government running the port in question.

[Soontir C'boath]

The second goddamn sentence of the article.

With the waters over there clearly abundant with piracy, you'd think they would pay for a good security detail rather than the ransom to get their ship back.

Yes, but it didn't say whether or not it was meant for the government running the port in question.

The tanks were due to be transported by road from Kenya to South Sudan.

Same article.

[TithonusSyndrome]

So they were being sold to Sudan, then? I somehow don't see Ukraine taking much of an interest in a military intervention there.

[Kanastrous]

So they were being sold to Sudan, then? I somehow don't see Ukraine taking much of an interest in a military intervention there.

Selling off equipment <> military intervention.

[Sidewinder]

I doubt we have much to fear from tanks manned by Somali pirates. Not only are those things fuel hogs, they're also high maintenance, and in the absence of highly trained personnel performing maintenance at regular intervals, will quickly become oversized paperweights... or anchors, something more useful to a pirate ship.

By the way, why wasn't that Ukrainian freighter armed? Does international law currently forbid the arming of civilian-owned vessels? (I know if I owned a ship that was transporting dangerous or high-dollar cargo, both categories that main battle tanks qualify in, I'd put armed security personnel on that ship.)

[ray245]

If my memory is correct, civilian ships are allowed to arm themselves. However, most companies find that the cost of fighting over a ship with pirates is not worth it, compared to the ransom being paid.

[Pelranius]

To be honest, I must admit that much as I abhor piracy, I'm not terribly sorry that the Sudanese won't be getting their tanks. Of course, I hope the crew gets out of this okay.

[Soontir C'boath]

Original article has been updated witht the following.

Defence Minister Yury Yekhanurov confirmed that 33 Russian T-72 tanks and "a substantial quantity of ammunition" were aboard.

He said all the weapons had been sold in compliance with international agreements.

Earlier reports suggested that the cargo was destined for south Sudan, however Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua confirmed that the tanks were going to Kenya.

"The cargo in the ship includes military hardware such as tanks and an assortment of spare parts for use by different branches of the Kenyan military," he said.

[PeZook]

I, too, am wondering why they didn't put a security detail on the ship. It's not like moving cement, these are goddamned tanks: and to be honest, the pirates usually fuck off if they meet any sort of resistance from a cargo ship they're trying to take: since attempting to forcefully board a freighter with even a few competent soldiers aboard is a death sentence. So it's not like you have to put a platoon aboard.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Even having an LRAD to use and some .50 cals. would be something. Seriously, the most pirated waters outside the South China Sea and they had no PMC escorts? Bizarre.

[Pelranius]

The Kenyan angle does make sense. The Sudanese have license production the Chinese Type 96 tank.

[Siege]

Assuming the article on the USNS John Lenthall is correct "55 ships and private vessels" were 'attacked' this year off the Horn of Africa. And according to AP, 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden every year. Much as I'd expect a ship carrying frickin' tanks and ammo to be guarded, it just might not be economical to hire PMCs for every ship passing through that area.

(Of course that's assuming the shipping company merely balances the cost of hiring PMCs against having to pay the occasional ransom to get their ship and cargo back... Which doesn't really take into account the truly shitty experience getting hijacked must be for the crew.)

[Sea Skimmer]

I, too, am wondering why they didn't put a security detail on the ship. It's not like moving cement, these are goddamned tanks: and to be honest, the pirates usually fuck off if they meet any sort of resistance from a cargo ship they're trying to take: since attempting to forcefully board a freighter with even a few competent soldiers aboard is a death sentence. So it's not like you have to put a platoon aboard.

You kind of almost do, because the whole reason ships get captured is because they don’t maintain lookouts and can’t see the pirate boats on radar, or else dismiss them as regular small boat traffic. If you see the pirates coming then even a slow freighter is probably going to be able to outrun them on the open sea.

Meanwhile visual lookouts become tired and bored very quickly, and thus need regular relief to stay effective, you can’t have them pulling eight hour shifts. That means you looking at a dozen men minimal for a worthwhile security detail. You also have to pay them well or else they might just hijack the ship themselves, and this turns into serious money very quickly

Course now that you have that expensive security detail, your insurance rates will skyrocket because you now have armed men on a ship loaded with ammunition! One mistake and the thing blows up. Many ports would outright bar the ship from entering a port under those circumstances, and any kind of major armament like some .50cal machine guns would rule out use of anything but naval docks in most countries. Compared to these problems the risk of pirates (which insurance can cover) in even the most dangerous waters is just not very large.

The real problem is that until recently patrolling warships were required to respect Somalia territorial waters, and above all that the shipping lines pay the damn ransoms. They pay and get the ships and captains back quickly every time rather then risk damage from allowing a command raid to retake them. If the worlds navies would simply get together and agree to stop respecting the demands of the shipping lines, and to go after pirates at very opportunity we’d have them wiped out within a year. This has been proven over and over again in history, pirates will never last long if they are aggressively engaged.

[Enigma]

Somehow, I doubt a shipping company using a flag of convenience would want to pony up the dough to defend their ships. Most likely the ship and cargo are insured and thus they can wash their hands from this.