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  • #61
    Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
    This could have a happy ending as I read in todays Sindo that they are ransoming the tanks for $24million...
    now I wonder would that be to the original owners or the highest bidder.

    Nice to think free enterprise is alive and thriving in Somalia.
    maybe we should put in an offer Then use them in chad

    Comment


    • #62
      This hijacking has opened a real can of worms, throwing light on the possibility on the Kenyan Govt involvement in supplying arms to Southern Sudan.. Officially North and Sth are at peace but in a few years time the sth will most probably vote for autonomy.. So tanks coming in from Kenya in case the Khartoum Govt decides otherwise.. Maybe even poss of their involvement in breaking arms embargo to the Khartoum Govt.. But most probably the first scenario .. Lots of tribal connections between Sth Sudan and Kenya

      Comment


      • #63
        More difficulties... Danes this time.
        http://jp.dk/uknews/article1447232.ece

        Military frees Pirates

        A pirate gang captured off the Somalian coast last week has been let free Politicians are fuming over the Defence Ministry's decision Tuesday to release 10 pirates captured off the Somalian coast last week. The men were apprehended by the...

        Politicians are fuming over the Defence Ministry's decision Tuesday to release 10 pirates captured off the Somalian coast last week.
        The men were apprehended by the crew of Danish naval vessel 'Absalon', which is part of international maritime patrol team 'Combined Task Force 150', operating in the Indian Ocean off Africa's eastern coast.
        A cache of weapons was found on the pirate ship and confiscated. But after over a week of deliberation, the Defence Ministry determined that turning the pirates over to an African country's authorities might result in their torture or execution.
        Politicians from both the left and right criticised the pirate's release. But Søren Gade, the defence minister, defended the move.
        'Other countries have had to do the same thing in previous similar circumstances,' Gade told TV2 News. 'The crew of the Absalon fully understands that Denmark must abide by international conventions. We could not hand them over knowing that the 10 men could be tortured or receive the death penalty from the Somali authorities.'
        The pirates were set ashore near their hometown with their personal belongings in tact. Their weapons, however, were not returned.


        Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

        Comment


        • #64
          MANY OF THE TOP GUYS WHO RUN THE PIRATES HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED CITIZENSHIP IN EU, US AUSTRALIA. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS THAT PLACES LIKE HOBIYO, EYL , ETC NEED TO BE GIVEN A GOOD SLAP SO THEY WILL KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES AND KEEP THE PRESS OUT. AS FOR THE LEADERS THREATHEN TO WITHDRAW THEIR OUTSIDE PASSPORTS.. hERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF EYL, SEE NOTHING REALLY THERE//
          Attached Files

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          • #65
            :wink:
            Originally posted by BANDIT View Post
            MANY OF THE TOP GUYS WHO RUN THE PIRATES HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED CITIZENSHIP IN EU, US AUSTRALIA. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS THAT PLACES LIKE HOBIYO, EYL , ETC NEED TO BE GIVEN A GOOD SLAP SO THEY WILL KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES AND KEEP THE PRESS OUT. AS FOR THE LEADERS THREATHEN TO WITHDRAW THEIR OUTSIDE PASSPORTS.. hERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF EYL, SEE NOTHING REALLY THERE//
            Please turn your caps lock off- my eyes are hurting:wink:

            Comment


            • #66
              Europe to send warships to defeat Somali pirates
              Jenny Booth
              Europe is setting up an anti-piracy taskforce to help protect the lawless sea lanes off east Africa, where heavily armed Somali hijackers have overrun more than 30 ships this year and raked in at least $30 million in ransom.

              At least 10 European Union countries have volunteered to contribute to the joint air and sea operation, which is expected to comprise three frigates, three surveillance vessels and a supply ship.

              Britain has indicated its probable support for the taskforce, which could be in place within days to help combat pirates who have stepped up their hostile attacks 100 per cent in the last year.

              "The aim is to go quickly," said Laurent Tesseire, a spokesman for the French Defence Ministry, which is organising the EU plan in partnership with Nato.

              Carme Chacon, the Defence Minister of Spain, which already has a military plane in the area, said that it was vital to take coordinated action against the pirates, who have made Somalia's coastal waters of Somalia the most dangerous in the world.

              “We cannot have a sea where pirates operate with impunity,” said Ms Chacon.

              Germany has promised to contribute a warship to the new taskforce, and France already has a ship in the area. Lithuania, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Belgium and Sweden have also indicated their support after talks today among EU defence ministers in Deauville, France.

              Des Browne, the British Defence Minister, said that it was essential to protect the EU's trade with the rest of the world, and the delivery of oil to the west.

              “It’s not just inside the EU or on the borders of the European Union, it’s off the coast of Somalia and Kenya, it’s more broadly, it’s ensuring that oil that travels around this world travels around it securely,” he said.

              The sea lanes southeast of the Suez Canal, running between Yemen and Somalia, are the main seagoing link between Europe to Asia - and critical to Gulf oil shipments.

              There is already an international force in the region, based around a contingent from the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Global shipping groups say however that more must be done to stop the escalating piracy, or risk a repeat of the 1970s crisis when the Suez Canal was closed and shipping diverted round the Cape of Good Hope.

              Somali pirates are now holding 13 vessels captive with more than 200 sailors. In the most dramatic recent incident, negotiations are still continuing over the release of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian tanker laden with 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, ammunition and heavy weapons which was seized by pirates on September 25 and is anchored off the central Somali coast.

              A flotilla of US navy warships has surrounded the MV Faina to ensure that the pirates don’t unload any of the weapons, fearing that they could end up in the hands of terrorists.

              The pirates have demanded a $20 million ransom for the cargo ship and its 21-man crew. Somali government officials yesterday gave the go ahead for foreign powers to use whatever force is necessary to free the ship.

              Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US 5th Fleet, hailed the EU taskforce plan as “a step in the right direction.” He said that the Navy had received reports of three failed attacks today in the Gulf of Aden.

              Piracy in 2008 has more than doubled from the previous year, with over 60 attempted attacks or successful hijacks reported.

              Risk Intelligence, a Danish intelligence company specializing in maritime security, said today that there was a dramatic increase in the number of seamen held by Somali pirates in September, with 374 people held captive after raids off the Horn of Africa last month, compared with 292 hostages in all of 2007.

              Company manager Hans Tino Hansen says the Somali pirates make an average of $1 million per hijacked vessel and hold freighters for an average of five weeks before freeing them.

              A separate report published today by Roger Middleton of Britain's Chatham House thinktank says that the estimated $30 million earned this year by pirates in ransom was already being used to fund Islamic insurgents, some of whom are on a US State Department list of terrorists, in their civil war with the shaky Somali government.

              “The international community must be aware of the danger that Somali pirates could become agents of international terrorist networks,” Middleton warned. He admitted that there was no explicit evidence yet showing that ransoms had bought weapons outside Somalia.

              In the past, the US military has launched air strikes against alleged terrorist operations inside Somalia, and is known to have secretly sent special forces into Somalia to go after militants linked to al-Qaeda.
              and in the Irish Times ..
              EU: THE EU has agreed to deploy an air and naval force in co-operation with Nato to combat piracy off the coast of Africa, writes Jamie Smyth, European Correspondent

              At least nine European states will participate in the action to protect busy shipping lanes from heavily armed pirates based in Somalia.

              "The aim is to go quickly," said French defence ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire at an informal meeting of EU ministers.

              Somali-based pirates have attacked more than 30 ships this year and are currently holding 13 vessels captive with 200 sailors on board. They operate in the sea lane in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia, which links Asia to Europe via the Suez canal. The region is critical to maintaining oil supplies that keep the world's economy working.

              Last week pirates seized the Ukrainian vessel MV Faina off Somalia, with 33 T-72 tanks. About 50 heavily armed pirates are holding the Faina off Somalia near Hobyo town.

              Several US navy ships are watching it and a Russian warship is also approaching.

              Shipping groups have warned that if states do not combat the threat from pirates there could be a repeat of the position in the 1970s when the Suez Canal was closed and shipping diverted around the Cape of Good Hope.

              After talks between EU defence ministers yesterday in Deauville, France, French defence minister Hervé Morin said France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Sweden would participate in the mission. He said Britain had also "opened the door" to possible participation. British defence minister Des Browne said that, as the world's biggest trading grouping, protecting the EU's security and way of life depended on being able to secure global trade routes.

              "It's not just inside the EU or on the borders of the European Union, it's off the coast of Somalia and Kenya, it's more broadly, it's ensuring that oil that travels around this world travels around it securely," he said.

              German defence minister Franz Josef Jung said EU states planned to deploy three frigates, a supply ship and three surveillance ships.

              Ireland will not participate as its does not have the type of maritime capacity required for the mission, according to a spokeswoman for Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea. Mr O'Dea did not attend the meeting, which also discussed the possible winding-up of the EU mission in Bosnia, where some 2,200 troops are deployed.

              The situation in Bosnia is now seen as calm enough for withdrawal. Some 45 Irish troops are deployed with the EU force there.

              Reuters adds: Kenya yesterday charged a maritime official with giving "alarming" information that the Faina 's cargo was bound for Sudan.

              Andrew Mwangura - whose East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme monitors shipping in the region and promotes sailors' rights - angered local authorities by saying the Faina's tanks, grenade-launchers and other weaponry were bound for southern Sudan and not Kenya as Nairobi says. That embarrassed Kenya, which brokered an end to Sudan's north-south war in 2005.

              © 2008 The Irish Times


              Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

              Comment


              • #67
                Another captured ship with secrets.



                An Iranian-flagged and operated ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia is carrying a suspicious cargo.
                You will never have a quiet world until you knock the patriotism out of the human race

                Comment


                • #68
                  Ireland will not participate as its does not have the type of maritime capacity required for the mission, according to a spokeswoman for Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea. Mr O'Dea did not attend the meeting, which also discussed the possible winding-up of the EU mission in Bosnia, where some 2,200 troops are deployed.
                  No bang bang for Navy?
                  "It is a general popular error to imagine that loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for it's welfare" Edmund Burke

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    No wocca wocca


                    Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Ireland doesn't have the "type of maritime capacity" required, but it seems Lithuania and Cyprus do??????

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        wocca wocca


                        Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Originally posted by easyrider View Post
                          Ireland doesn't have the "type of maritime capacity" required, but it seems Lithuania and Cyprus do??????
                          Could it be that those in the Army who control the DF, are unwilling to allow the other branches of the Defence forces, display their usefulness on overseas deployment?
                          Realistically, our skill base is ideally suited to this type of operation.
                          Seems pointless sending Naval Vessels on foreign trips to assist in the promotion of Irish Industry abroad, when you then refuse to send them overseas to do the job they were designed for.
                          I still believe the absence of a Heli is a disadvantage though. However that said, Our boarding RIBs are faster than those used in the same role by other navies, in calmer waters.
                          It is quite hypocritical of the Minister to complain on one event that European nations are not doing their bit to assist in overseas operations with the EURRF, while at the same time refusing to send our assets, and our skilled people on an operation that would build up their skill base for the more routine Operations at home.(if you can handle somali Pirates in the Indian Ocean, you'll have no problem with European Drug Smugglers in the Celtic sea)


                          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            No doubt it would be considered a political hot potato - too much of a deviation from the publicly endored - "Operation token effort"
                            "It is a general popular error to imagine that loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for it's welfare" Edmund Burke

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Originally posted by pilatus View Post
                              Well our Navy would be competent enough to carry out such a tasking.The very sighting of a Naval ship by the pirates would be enough of a detterent by itself.A helicopter equipped vessel would be more suited to this sort of operation though, for over the horizon operations and responding to distress calls or reports of pirate activity.The pirates want maximum profitablity with minimal risk to themselves, so at the first sign of an armed helicopter swooping down on them or the distant sillouete of a naval ship and they will go as fast as they can in the opposite direction.They are cowards and there should only be one sort of response and that is a shoot to kill order.It is the only way to stop them.
                              I don't think so.

                              It is one thing to take on a Tico or other Well armed destroyer. But lets just say the Somali pirates decide to go for broke. A few anti-tank weapons, a civvie ship in destress, Irish respond and next thing there is a pitched battle from close quarters. A bit of thorough planning and the Somalis could pull off a coup.
                              Last time they did that was in 1993 during the battle of Mogadishu and remember the result of that!!!

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                I am a not a naval person, only experience throwing up on the Banba..
                                however have seen the seas off Somalia , very rough .. I am sure the west Coast of Ireland is every bit as bad but there are very few ports or shelter u can find along the coast, longest in Africa. 3,500km ? Ports along somali coast are very insecure.. Kismayo in Sth probably more dangerous than Mogadishu and harbour contained a sunken ship of explosives , Bosasso in the Nth not really secure place to moor , too many gooks in the town, Nearest logs base and safe haven, Djibouti or Mombassa. Irish ship perhaps could be useful if it was part of some sort of a flotilla? Also would not under estimate Somalis , Most would probably gap it if faced by opposition but the amount and type of weapons vary hugely, from WW2 Piat , tommy guns, even energas but also Milans, SAM 6s and god know what else. In recent years local capacity improved due to links with Islamic groups also first suicide bombers in last 5 years, think USS Cole across in Yemen, Explosives came from Somalia.

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