Somalia Pirates seize US-flagged cargo ship

[GuppyShark]

The ship was carrying food aid? Well, that sounds like a new low, in terms of what targets they hit. Though they probably had no idea what was on it I suppose.

Seizing food aid seems exactly low enough. The reason the US got involved in Somalia previously was the local warlords stealing all the food aid. That resulted in Black Hawk Down.

[FSTargetDrone]

Seizing food aid seems exactly low enough. The reason the US got involved in Somalia previously was the local warlords stealing all the food aid. That resulted in Black Hawk Down.

I'm betting that these pirates don't generally know what it is they are going to find until they are onboard, or until the captured ship is tied up at home. Unless they are tracking individual ships and/or somehow know the manifest ahead of time, they are just after the crews for ransom, right? The contents of the containers on a container ship wouldn't be obvious unless the containers themselves were opened (assuming the crew stays quiet). Oil tankers are a bit more obvious, of course.

[GuppyShark]

Yeah, it's not my argument that they picked it on purpose - just pointing out for Romulan Republic that there's a history of food aid being stolen in this region.

[Superman]

Damn. Was Steven Seagal part of that crew or something?

Anyone see a pic of what that aid ship looks like? How big is it?

[FSTargetDrone]

Anyone see a pic of what that aid ship looks like? How big is it?

Here ya go:

Maersk A-Class

Maersk Line, Limited is based in Norfolk, Virginia, and is one of the Department of Defense's primary shipping contractors. It has been a reliable partner for the government in peacetime and war for almost 30 years. The company operates vessels registered in the United States in full compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. It manages a fleet of nearly 50 ships in commercial and government service, including vessels requiring Top Secret security clearances. Maersk Line, Limited, a subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller/Maersk A.S., is independently controlled by a board of directors comprised entirely of U.S. citizens.

A. P. Moller Singapore was established 8 March 1978 as "The Maersk Company Singapore" and started out with two container feeder vessels " Maersk Mango" and "Maersk Tempo". In 1988-1989 nine vessels were purchased - three container vessels (Alva Maersk /Arild Maersk /Brigit Maersk),three product/crude carriers (Maersk Virtue/Maersk Nautilus/Maersk Neptune) and three pure car carriers (Maersk Crest/ Maersk Cloud/ Maersk Sky).

On October 1, 2004 Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) announced that it had signed agreements with the Maritime Administration that will transfer six Maritime Security Program (MSP) operating agreements to modern containerships that will replace six existing MSP vessels built in the 1980s and managed by U.S. Ship Management, Inc. (USSM). The new replacement vessels are: Sealand Intrepid, Sealand Lightning, Sealand Charger, Sealand Comet, Sealand Meteor and Alva Maersk.

Seafarers are sailing aboard five containerships operated by Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) that have transferred into the U.S. Maritime Security Program, replacing older tonnage. Agreements were signed Oct. 1, 2004 between MLL and the U.S. Maritime Administration to transfer the Maritime Security Program contracts on six existing SIU-crewed MSP vessels built in the 1980s and managed by U.S. Ship Management, Inc. (USSM) to six newer containerships.

Seafarers crewed up MLL's Sealand Charger Oct. 28 in Los Angeles; the Sealand Meteor Nov. 9 in Dubai; the Alva Maersk -since renamed the Maersk Alabama-Nov. 10 in Dubai; and both the Sealand Intrepid and Sealand Comet Nov. 16 in Los Angeles. The Sealand Lightning was due to join the fleet in Southern California. A sixth MLL vessel was scheduled to enter the fleet in late November or early December 2004.

MSP age limits require that older vessels be replaced in the current program before reaching 25 years of age. The replacements were approved by the Maritime Administration and the U.S. Transportation Command and represent a significant improvement in the ability of MLL's U.S.-flag fleet to serve its military and commercial customers. All vessels will be integrated into MLL's existing U.S.-flag fleet operations, streamlining operations and creating efficiencies in MLL's global network of intermodal assets, including terminals, cranes, logistical platforms, computerized management systems, containers and chassis. The transfers will strengthen the MSP for military purposes and enhance the U.S.-flag presence in international shipping.

Audacious fraudsters repeatedly scammed AP Moller-Maersk out of millions of dollars in a series of bogus shipping contracts, says the Danish liner giant. In May 2005 Maersk was now in US courts chasing $24.95m in treble damages. A federal court has ordered up to that amount attached as it wires its way through New York banks to the defendants in the case, including Arwen Singh Sahni and his family members and associates. Those behind the scheme, many of them described as Kuwait-based Indian nationals, are also said to have pulled a separate, simultaneous con of a similar scale on unnamed other lines. The complex scheme involved shipping low-value goods on fraudulent, high-value bills of lading and then suing Maersk for the apparent loss of merchandise that never existed, according to papers filed with the Southern District of New York federal court. The alleged con artists even succeeded in getting a Maersk containership, the geared, 1,100-teu Alva Maersk (now the US-flag Maersk Alabama , built 1998), arrested in Kuwait to satisfy their claims. Maersk had to put up a $1.86m bank guarantee in April 2004 to get the ship released.

Specifications

VESSEL OWNER
VESSEL BUILDER
Length Overall 780' 6-1/8"
LBP 763' 6-1/2"
Beam Molded 100' 3/4"
Design Draft 39' 5-3/8"
Propulsion Slow Speed Hitachi B&W 8L90GBE 31,800 BHP x 97 RPM
Design Speed 21 Kts
Displacement at Design Draft 30,662 L.Tons
GT 14,100
DWT 17,400
Container Capacity 1,399 TEUs

[FSTargetDrone]

An update:

From the Los Angeles Times

FBI called in as U.S. tries to rescue captain held by Somali pirates

The U.S. Navy has summoned the FBI as the standoff in the Indian Ocean continues.

By Edmund Sanders and Julian E. Barnes

April 10, 2009

Reporting from Washington and Nairobi, Kenya — American seamen and Somali pirates remained locked in a standoff in the Indian Ocean today as the U.S. Navy summoned the FBI for advice on how to rescue the cargo-ship captain held hostage by the hijackers.

The assault on the U.S.-registered Maersk Alabama freighter, loaded with food for Africa, far off Somalia's coast marked the first attack against a U.S.-flagged vessel off Africa since the days of the Barbary pirates more than 200 years ago, a maritime official said.

At the FBI, spokesman Richard Kolko described the bureau's hostage rescue team as "fully engaged" with the military in seeking ways to retrieve the ship's captain, 55-year-old Vermont resident Richard Phillips, and secure the Maersk Alabama and its roughly 20-person U.S. crew.

The FBI was summoned as the Pentagon substantially stepped up its monitoring of the hostage standoff, sending in P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft and other equipment and securing video footage of the scene.

A U.S. official said that the Maersk Alabama was moving away from the scene of the hijacking. The official did not say what the ship's destination was, but family members said the ship was going to the Kenyan port of Mombassa. A Navy security team is aboard the Alabama, the U.S. official said.

The shipping company Maersk today demanded that Capt. Richard Phillips be returned and called his safety its No. 1 priority, the Associated Press reported.

The attempted seizure of the Danish-owned vessel marks the latest chapter in the piracy saga off Somalia. Poverty, civil war and the lack of a functioning government since 1991 have turned the waters around the Horn of Africa nation into the most crime-infested on Earth.

The attack on the cargo ship was the second in two days, U.S. officials said. After rebuffiing the first attempt, the ship's crew radioed Wednesday that two skiffs were closing in. Thirty minutes later, the ship told maritime officials that pirates had attached a grappling hook and were climbing aboard.

The American crew retook the ship -- it was unclear how -- and the hijackers fled in a lifeboat with the captain as a hostage. With Phillips in pirate hands, second-in-command Shane Murphy was in control. A crew member told CNN that one of the pirates had been detained but then was released in an unsuccessful bid to exchange him for the captain.

U.S. Defense Department officials said the U.S. destroyer Bainbridge arrived on the scene early today and was monitoring the situation.

Officials said the destroyer would establish communication, watch the situation and seek to negotiate the hostage's release, which could take some time.

"I wouldn't expect it to resolve itself like an episode of 'CSI' in 45 minutes," a Defense official said.

Both Murphy and Phillips are graduates of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where Murphy's father teaches a course in anti-piracy tactics. Academy President Rick Gurnon said it was his understanding that the crew had disabled the cargo ship in a bid to thwart the hijackers.

Phillips' sister-in-law, Lea Coggio, described him as "easygoing, laid-back," and added that she wouldn't be surprised if he was having a relaxed conversation with the pirates.

Numerous merchant vessels have successfully fended off or outrun pirates, but the actions of the U.S. crew appeared to mark a rare instance of seafarers overpowering pirates after a ship was seized, maritime officials said.

It remained unclear who attacked the 17,000-ton vessel, but past attacks have been launched by Somali warlords, disgruntled fishermen and foreign-based criminal networks. After chasing ships in speed boats and scaling the ships' hulls, Somali pirates typically anchor vessels off the coast and negotiate ransoms of $1 million to $3 million.

Last year, pirates attacked 122 vessels in the region and seized 42 of them. Total ransom payments collected by Somali pirates were believed to have topped $50 million. Maritime officials say at least 16 ships and 200 crew members are being held.

Among high-profile attacks last year was one against a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 military tanks and another targeting a Saudi-owned tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil.

Pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama about 7:30 a.m., U.S. Navy officials said. The ship was in the Indian Ocean about 240 nautical miles southeast of the Somalia port city of Eyl, they said.

The ship's owner, Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line, is a U.S. subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk. The shipping giant is a longtime Pentagon contractor, according to security analyst firm Global Security.org, operating vessels with "top security clearance." But the hijacked vessel was not sailing under a Defense Department contract at the time of the attack, company and U.S. military officials said.

Maersk Line Chief Executive John Reinhart said at a news conference that the company's seafarers were trained in prevention methods to combat piracy, such as increasing the ship's speed or changing direction, preventing pirates from boarding, using extra lookouts and maintaining regular communication with the U.S. Navy.

"We have ways to push back, but we don't carry arms," he said.

A spokesman for the World Food Program confirmed that part of the ship's cargo was being ferried on its behalf, including 4,000 metric tons of corn headed for Somalia and Uganda, and 1,000 metric tons of vegetable oil for refugees in Kenya. It was expected to dock in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on April 16.

Maritime experts predicted that the crew's efforts could serve as a deterrent.

"This will send a message to pirates," said Candyce Kelshall, a specialist at maritime security firm Blue Water Defence and Security, based in Trinidad.

She said that as few as four armed pirates have been able to seize control of massive commercial vessels because seafarers, who are often low-paid and undertrained, have been told by ship owners to offer no resistance to avoid loss of life.

"We don't want to have a crew of Rambos," Kelshall said, noting that she disagrees with American military recommendations that commercial vessels carry arms for protection. "But if this crew was able to retake the ship without using arms by outnumbering the pirates or because of their training, this is something that should be encouraged."

Retired Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, who was skipper of the U.S. destroyer Cole when it was attacked by Al Qaeda operatives in 2000, praised the crew members' bravery.

"It exemplifies that Americans, whether merchant marines or sailors, possess initiative and leadership," Lippold said. "It shows an incredible amount of courage."

Lippold said, however, that the attack and the capture of the ship's captain raise the stakes for the U.S. government.

"The problem of piracy has come home to roost and now American lives are in jeopardy," he said. He advocated increasing the Navy fleet and attacking pirate strongholds in Somalia.

Navy officials said pirate attacks against U.S. ships in the area have not been a problem.

"Every indication is that this is the first time a U.S.-flagged ship has been successfully seized by pirates in this region," said Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program in Nairobi, said the last attack on an American vessel by African pirates was reported in 1804 off Libya. "It's been a very long time," he said.

More than 33,000 ships pass along the East African trade route each year. Pirates targeting them use navigational devices and electronic maritime databases to avoid capture, officials said.

U.S. warships, joined by vessels from several other North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries and other navies, have been patrolling the region since late last year.

When the arms-laden Ukrainian ship was hijacked last year, U.S. warships and helicopters provided 24-hour surveillance to ensure that none of the weapons were offloaded to militants.

The anti-piracy efforts have had mixed success. Attacks near Somalia's shore have declined, but pirates have just moved farther out into the Indian Ocean.

edmund.sanders @latimes.com

julian.barnes@latimes.com

Times staff writer Paul Richter contributed to this story.

[Peptuck]

Update.

Pirates appear to be out of fuel on their lifeboat and are being shadowed by the USS Bainbridge within eyesight.

The pirates are pretty much fucked; its just a question of whether the captain gets out of this unharmed.

[FSTargetDrone]

Apparently, the captain tried to get away on his own but he was recaptured:

Pirates recapture US hostage after escape attempt

By KATHARINE HOURELD and MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED – 2 hours ago

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The American captain held hostage by four Somali pirates made a desperate escape attempt Friday but was recaptured, and officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships with other captives aboard to the scene of the standoff.

The U.S. also was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips.

The pirates on the lifeboat apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Phillips — who was taken hostage in their failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday — and they hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.

Around midnight local time, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat and began swimming, but was recaptured by the pirates, according to Defense Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about unfolding operations.

Sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge, which is patrolling nearby, were able to see Phillips moving around and talking after his return to the lifeboat, and the Defense Department officials think he is unharmed.

Negotiations are taking place between the pirates and the captain of the Bainbridge, who is getting direction from FBI hostage negotiators, the officials said. The captors are also communicating with other pirate vessels by satellite phone, officials said.

U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus said U.S. warships also are headed to the area, more than 300 miles off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast.

"We want to ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days," he said.

Mohamed Samaw, a resident of the pirate stronghold in Eyl, Somalia, who claims to have a "share" in a British-owned ship hijacked Monday, said four foreign ships held by pirates are heading toward the lifeboat. A total of 54 hostages are on two of the ships — citizens of China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Taiwan.

"The pirates have summoned assistance — skiffs and mother ships are heading towards the area from the coast," said a Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media. "We knew they were gathering yesterday."

Samaw said two ships left Eyl on Wednesday. A third sailed from Haradhere, another pirate base in Somalia, and the fourth one was a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized Monday that was already only 30 miles from the lifeboat.

He said the ships include the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized earlier this month. The ship's crew of 24 is made up of five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and 12 from Tuvalu.

Another man identified as a pirate by three different residents of Haradhere also said the captured German ship had been sent.

"They had asked us for reinforcement, and we have already sent a good number of well-equipped colleagues, who were holding a German cargo ship," said the pirate who asked that only his first name, Badow, be used to protect him from reprisals.

"We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him," Badow said.

"All we need, first, is a safe route to escape with the captain, and then (negotiate) ransom later," he added.

Phillips, 53, thwarted the takeover of the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Alabama by telling his crew of about 20 to lock themselves in a room, the crew told stateside relatives.

The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but Phillips surrendered himself to the bandits to safeguard his men, and the Somalis fled with him to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.

At Phillips' home in Underhill, Vt., family members nervously awaited word on his fate. Sister-in-law Lea Coggio said Thursday a representative of Maersk called to let Phillips' wife know that food and water had been delivered to the lifeboat.

"I think he's coping, knowing Richard," she said. "He's a smart guy, and he's in control. "

Officials at Maersk Line Ltd. offices in Norfolk, Va., did not respond to repeated messages seeking comment Friday.

The Alabama sailed away from the lifeboat Thursday, Maersk shipping line said, and a team of armed Navy SEALs is on board, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

It was sailing toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa — its original destination — and was expected to arrive Saturday night, said Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy whose son, Shane Murphy, is second-in-command of the vessel.

Company spokesman Kevin Speers told AP Radio on Thursday the lifeboat carrying Phillips and the pirates was out of fuel and "dead in the water."

Most of the lifeboats are about 28 feet long and carry water and food for 34 people for 10 days, said Joseph Murphy.

The lifeboats are covered and Murphy, speaking after a briefing by the shipping company, said he suspects the pirates have closed the ports to avoid sniper fire.

Petraeus said the other warships would arrive shortly. U.S. officials said the guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton was among ships en route.

The show of force follows an increase in the number of attacks and the first one on a U.S.-flagged ship. The vessels strengthen surveillance of the area and may dissuade pirates from seizing another ship, but there are not enough to mount a blockade in the danger zone that sprawls across 1.1 million square miles, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss operational matters.

The Alabama was the sixth vessel in a week to be hit by pirates who have extorted tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.

President Barack Obama is getting regular updates on the situation, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States will take whatever steps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests against pirates.

Steve Romano, a retired head of the FBI hostage negotiation team, said he doesn't recall the FBI ever negotiating with pirates before, but he said this situation is similar to other standoffs. Although pirates release the vast majority of their hostages unharmed, the difficulty will be negotiating with people who clearly have no way out, he said.

"There's always a potential for tragedy here, and when people feel their options are limited, they sometimes react in more unpredictable and violent ways," Romano said.

Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Mohamed Olad Hassan and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia; Pauline Jelinek, Anne Gearan and Matt Apuzzo in Washington; Elizabeth Kennedy in Nairobi, Kenya; Ray Henry in Bourne, Mass.; John Curran in Underhill, Vermont; Brian Skoloff in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Christine Armario in Bradenton, Florida; and Larry O'Dell in Norfolk, Va.

I hope these guys don't do anything desperate. They must know they cannot get out of this if they kill him. At least I hope so. Other hostages are also in the area and are presumably in danger.

What a mess.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Honestly, putting 5in rapid-fire into those incoming pirates is exactly what should be done; I hate to put it this way, but there's very little else which is going to put a dent into piracy in the region. And most of the hostages should survive to be rescued, anyway. The USN is an unpleasant position, here; the United States does not give into the demands of kidnappers and terrorists, and does not ransom, as a universal policy. They cannot win, but we can't win without killing innocent people, either. And yet because the pirates in the small boat cannot escape, the situation must end in one either way--this can only end badly, and in some sense it was precisely what everyone was afraid of. Someday the pirates would be involved directly with the USN rather than negotiating ransoms with shipping lines, and that means blood and gunfire. One key thing is that the captains of those additional pirate boats coming in should be informed that if they continue further out to sea they were never return to Somalia alive.

[Lonestar]

Send a young buck SEAL NCO over to just blow a hole in the hull of the life raft, and when it starts to sink send a RHIB over to throw them a line.

(For the US Hostage)

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Send a young buck SEAL NCO over to just blow a hole in the hull of the life raft, and when it starts to sink send a RHIB over to throw them a line.

(For the US Hostage)

That may very well be what ends up happening.

[ray245]

Honestly, putting 5in rapid-fire into those incoming pirates is exactly what should be done; I hate to put it this way, but there's very little else which is going to put a dent into piracy in the region. And most of the hostages should survive to be rescued, anyway. The USN is an unpleasant position, here; the United States does not give into the demands of kidnappers and terrorists, and does not ransom, as a universal policy. They cannot win, but we can't win without killing innocent people, either. And yet because the pirates in the small boat cannot escape, the situation must end in one either way--this can only end badly, and in some sense it was precisely what everyone was afraid of. Someday the pirates would be involved directly with the USN rather than negotiating ransoms with shipping lines, and that means blood and gunfire. One key thing is that the captains of those additional pirate boats coming in should be informed that if they continue further out to sea they were never return to Somalia alive.

It seems so reasonable until you realise that some of your loved ones can be the people who was kidnapped. Getting them into a crossfire is not what the shipping company, the crew members and the relatives of the crew members would like to see.

Just a side note, do any of you have any friends or relative who works in the shipping industry and travel through those regions often?

[The Duchess of Zeon]

It seems so reasonable until you realise that some of your loved ones can be the people who was kidnapped. Getting them into a crossfire is not what the shipping company, the crew members and the relatives of the crew members would like to see.

I have to ask people around here, do you have any friends or relative who works in the shipping industry and travel through those regions often?

The problem is that we don't have a goddamned choice, because otherwise this is just going to get worse and worse until someday a pirate fleet shows up at Perth and starts killing and raping people. As long as we play the game by their rules, they're going to get more and more ambitious and they're going to push harder and harder, and have ever-more money. Consider the blunt fact that once you have enough diesel fuel, these Asian trawlers they're picking up can go anywhere in the world.

What's stopping them from sailing down the African coast to shoot up harbours, next? Or arriving at some isolated point on the coast of India and launching raids there? Absolutely nothing. These guys are not bad mariners, their ancestors were trading with India for centuries in little wooden dhows, and they now have a sizeable force of reasonably sized trawlers... Which fit in with international traffic and have sufficient range to essentially raid at will in the Indian Ocean basin. And they know it; the Maersk Alabama was taken 725km off the coast of Somalia. That distance will only expand, until we see pirate trawlers attacking ships randomly anywhere in the India ocean, and if we don't take measures to stop them then, they'll go further and almost certainly raid coastal towns next. This is how every single surge of piracy that hasn't been properly dealt with ends up. I mean, christ, the Barbary pirates took millions of Europeans as slaves before the 19th century by raiding coastal villages.

What I suspect is going to happen after they start raiding anywhere at will is that they're going to hit the coast of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Burma, etc, countries with huge coastlines and no way to properly patrol them effectively, and start carting off the entirety of the healthy young people in the village into slavery, to be traded through Somalia to Yemen and the Sudan and Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region where slavery remains extremely commonplace and a functional slave trade--and remember that most of these guys are involved in that slave trade, and other forms of illegal smuggling, and still fish on top of it, anything to bring in more money--will distribute them all over the region and due to the blanket toleration of slavery by the local governments, they will never come home.

[The Romulan Republic]

I don't understand why the pirates in the boat don't hand the hostage back. They must realize they'll die either way, weather by drifting without fuel in the middle of the ocean, or by getting shot full of holes if this does turn into a fire fight. They can't possibly be stupid enough to think they can win against destroyers, can they?

At least, even if worst comes to worst, we can hope that it will be enough to wake people up to how serious this is. A bunch of civilian hostages from several countries being caught in a firefight between the navy and a pirate fleet has "politically disastrous clusterfuck" written all over it, which sadly might be what it takes to bump this issue to the top of Obama's priorities list.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I don't understand why the pirates in the boat don't hand the hostage back. They must realize they'll die either way, weather by drifting without fuel in the middle of the ocean, or by getting shot full of holes if this does turn into a fire fight. They can't possibly be stupid enough to think they can win against destroyers, can they?

They're waiting for other pirate boats to arrive loaded with hostages, who will take them and their hostage aboard, and then escape because they know western militaries are unwilling to risk killing the hostages.

[The Romulan Republic]

Based on situations like this in the past, is it likely that the navy will let them go and negotiate the captain's release later, or will they start a firefight rather than let the pirates leave? I know about the whole "don't negotiate with terrorists policy," but given how horrific and politically disastrous a firefight involving 50+ civilian hostages from multiple nations could be (especially as the first major foreign policy disaster of the new administration,) I'm wondering what their course of action is likely to be.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Well, I take that back. Western militaries Except for the French, who just rescued four hostages (a fifth was killed) and killed two pirates and captured three during a raid on the seized yacht Tanit.

French hostages freed off Somalia
The French yacht Tanit, in Brittany (file pic)
The families on board the Tanit were warned of the danger of pirate attacks

One French hostage has died and four others have been freed in a rescue operation by French troops on a yacht off Somalia, French officials say.

Two pirates were killed in the operation and three were captured, the French presidency says.

Two French couples had been seized with a child, who was among those freed from the yacht, Tanit, seized last week.

The operation came after a US captain made an unsuccessful overnight bid to escape from another seized vessel.

Captain Richard Phillips managed to jump overboard off the lifeboat on which he was being held by pirates, US media reported.

But his attempt to reach a nearby US military ship was thwarted before it could come to his aid.

US troops in the area are continuing to monitor Mr Phillips' situation. He was captured after a struggle on his ship, Maersk Alabama.

Reports said the French rescue operation was not thought to be in the vicinity of the US fleet and the Maersk Alabama.

In another development on Friday, pirates released a Norwegian cargo ship, the Bow Asir, and its crew, the vessel's owners said. The Bow Asir had been held since 26 March.

Warnings 'unheeded'

The French operation to free those on board the Tanit - the third time French troops have freed hostages from pirates - began late on Thursday, five days after the yacht was seized, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

We have got rid of the television and everything that seemed superfluous to concentrate on what is essential
Florent Lemacon describing his family's journey

Negotiations with the pirates which began earlier this week had failed to secure the release of the hostages, the president's spokesman said.

When talks broke down troops immobilised the vessel before moving in, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris.

"With the threats becoming more and more specific, the pirates refusing the offers made to them and the [yacht] heading towards the coast, an operation to free the hostages was decided upon," he said.

The spokesman confirmed that one of the hostages was killed, but added that the others - including the child - were now "safe and sound".

Earlier in the week Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had left open the possibility that troops could launch an effort to free the French hostages, telling reporters French officials knew the location of the Tanit.

However, it also emerged that the families on board the yacht, which was reported to be heading down to Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, were urged not to travel through the Gulf of Aden.

The region has become a haven for pirates and is the scene of frequent seizures and attacks on international shipping.

After a lull earlier this year, the Maersk Alabama was the sixth ship hijacked off Somalia in the past week.

Escaping consumerism

A spokesman for the French foreign ministry said the couple - named as Chloe and Florent Lemacon - were "repeatedly warned" not to travel through the area.

"It is difficult to understand why these warnings were not heeded," spokesman Eric Chevallier said.

The couple had refurbished the Tanit, a 12.5m (41ft) boat, and given up jobs in a bid to escape consumer society and navigate a route along the African coast to Zanzibar.

Speaking to French newspaper Ouest France, Mr Lemacon said they wanted to change their priorities in life.

"We don't want our child to receive the sort of education that the government is concocting for us. We have got rid of the television and everything that seemed superfluous to concentrate on what is essential," he said.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Based on situations like this in the past, is it likely that the navy will let them go and negotiate the captain's release later, or will they start a firefight rather than let the pirates leave? I know about the whole "don't negotiate with terrorists policy," but given how horrific and politically disastrous a firefight involving 50+ civilian hostages from multiple nations could be (especially as the first major foreign policy disaster of the new administration,) I'm wondering what their course of action is likely to be.

I think that, like it or not, we're going to see a firefight. Especially now that the Navy's been slightly humiliated by not noticing the Captain's escape attempt and raking an autocannon over those worthless fucks while he was away from the boat.

[Eldalote]

Look, I agree that there is a need for more protection in the area, but what a lot of people seem to be forgetting is that the US might not have ships out there, but quite a few other countries do.

For example the Dutch navy has a LVC frigate in the area (yes, that tiny little country), and it actively patrols the area. I have spoken with the XO of one of the ships that have been stationed there (family), and he can list several reasons why the presence of military ships helps, but doesn't help enough.

For one: The pirates never come CLOSE to military ships, and when the navies show up, they're gone.
Second: Even if you catch a ship that you think are pirates, you can't just go shoot them, they could be fishermen! Until you have PROOF they are pirates (and they won't give you proof) you can't do anything.

YES, a navy presence does help, and a lot of countries (even the small ones) are pulling their weight to make the area as safe as they can, but I can guaranty you, the USN showing up wont magic the pirates away.
(I'm not saying American help isn't welcome, hell no, just saying the USN isn't a magical solution)

Edit: Wow, I press submit and 4 more posts were before me....

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Look, I agree that there is a need for more protection in the area, but what a lot of people seem to be forgetting is that the US might not have ships out there, but quite a few other countries do.

For example the Dutch navy has a LVC frigate in the area (yes, that tiny little country), and it actively patrols the area. I have spoken with the XO of one of the ships that have been stationed there (family), and he can list several reasons why the presence of military ships helps, but doesn't help enough.

For one: The pirates never come CLOSE to military ships, and when the navies show up, they're gone.
Second: Even if you catch a ship that you think are pirates, you can't just go shoot them, they could be fishermen! Until you have PROOF they are pirates (and they won't give you proof) you can't do anything.

YES, a navy presence does help, and a lot of countries (even the small ones) are pulling their weight to make the area as safe as they can, but I can guaranty you, the USN showing up wont magic the pirates away.
(I'm not saying American help isn't welcome, hell no, just saying the USN isn't a magical solution)

Well, an obvious helpful solution is to publish general orders that anyone found carrying weapons on their vessel at sea during a search will be pushed overboard (unregistered weapons, so the legitimate ships can carry them). The only way to deal with pirates is summary justice and open engagement by naval forces, nothing else has ever worked (in contrast with terrorism, where the individuals can be located and targeted through law enforcement means, piracy actually really is a military problem).

[Eldalote]

Well, an obvious helpful solution is to publish general orders that anyone found carrying weapons on their vessel at sea during a search will be pushed overboard (unregistered weapons, so the legitimate ships can carry them). The only way to deal with pirates is summary justice and open engagement by naval forces, nothing else has ever worked (in contrast with terrorism, where the individuals can be located and targeted through law enforcement means, piracy actually really is a military problem).

I agree that to stop the pirates a harder fist is needed, the problem is that in a modern world those kinds of things (summary justice etc.) are not really acceptable (at least not by our laws).
I don't know about the other navies, but the Dutch ships get pretty stiff rules of engagement, because to our government, killing innocents would be completely unacceptable.

[ray245]

It seems so reasonable until you realise that some of your loved ones can be the people who was kidnapped. Getting them into a crossfire is not what the shipping company, the crew members and the relatives of the crew members would like to see.

I have to ask people around here, do you have any friends or relative who works in the shipping industry and travel through those regions often?

The problem is that we don't have a goddamned choice, because otherwise this is just going to get worse and worse until someday a pirate fleet shows up at Perth and starts killing and raping people. As long as we play the game by their rules, they're going to get more and more ambitious and they're going to push harder and harder, and have ever-more money. Consider the blunt fact that once you have enough diesel fuel, these Asian trawlers they're picking up can go anywhere in the world.

How the hell would a Pirates attack Perth when they have more to lose than more to gain? You seriously expect the Navy to be sleeping when one of their major port is being attacked?

The last thing I want is to see my Uncle being dead thanks you what you proposed.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

How the hell would a Pirates attack Perth when they have more to lose than more to gain? You seriously expect the Navy to be sleeping when one of their major port is being attacked?

Yeah, and then they have hostages and clear out again...

..No, I admit it was rhetorical hyperbole only, and intended only as rhetorical hyperbole, a point to drive home. They'll never attack Perth, but once again, first-world westerners get the best of it. Random coastal villages in India and Indonesia, though? Yes, that will be happening at this rate, and what can anyone do about it, if we don't attack the pirates directly in their lairs in Somalia with heavy firepower? Notice, I don't expect to permanently suppress piracy doing this just once, either--I think bombardments of the Somali coast will simply become a regular feature of naval life if such a policy is implemented.

[The Romulan Republic]

Based on situations like this in the past, is it likely that the navy will let them go and negotiate the captain's release later, or will they start a firefight rather than let the pirates leave? I know about the whole "don't negotiate with terrorists policy," but given how horrific and politically disastrous a firefight involving 50+ civilian hostages from multiple nations could be (especially as the first major foreign policy disaster of the new administration,) I'm wondering what their course of action is likely to be.

I think that, like it or not, we're going to see a firefight. Especially now that the Navy's been slightly humiliated by not noticing the Captain's escape attempt and raking an autocannon over those worthless fucks while he was away from the boat.

I'd think the humiliation would pale besides headline news that reads "50 civilian hostages killed in firefight between navy and pirates."

I'm not saying they won't shoot; I don't have a clue. I'm just saying that the implications of doing so, politically and most of all to the hostages and their families, would be quite sever, and that surely that will factor into the situation.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I'd think the humiliation would pale besides headline news that reads "50 civilian hostages killed in firefight between navy and pirates."

I'm not saying they won't shoot; I don't have a clue. I'm just saying that the implications of doing so, politically and most of all to the hostages and their families, would be quite sever, and that surely that will factor into the situation.

The problem is that situations like this are not under control, whatsoever, and feature a lot of utterly desperate men with guns and rockets on one side, and on the other side, nervous and exhausted and pissed off men who are frustrated without the chance to do something, with even bigger guns and rockets.