Modern Pirates

[Goldie fish]

Warning issued to Somali pirates
Sunday, 23 November 2008 10:32


Somali Islamist fighters have warned pirates holding a Saudi super-tanker to free the ship or face armed action.

Sheikh Ahmed, a spokesman for the Shebab group in the coastal region of Harardhere, said 'If the pirates want peace, they had better release the tanker.'

The Sirius Star, carrying around $100m (€80m) worth of crude oil and owned by Saudi Aramco, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on 15 November.

AdvertisementPirates have since anchored it off their base in Harardhere and have demanded a ransom of $25m (€20m), to be paid by 30 November.

The Shebab (youth) armed group controls much of southern and central Somalia, and has positioned fighters in and around Harardhere in recent days.

Islamist leaders have stressed that piracy is a capital offence in Islam and officially condemned the surge in acts of piracy in Somalia's waters.

But a member of the pirate group holding the Sirius Star retorted that his own men were not afraid of the Shebab's threats.

Mohamed Said said 'We are the Shebab of the sea and we can't be scared by the Shebab of the land. If anybody attempts to attack, that would be suicide.'

Some residents in Harardhere have argued however that the Shebab are divided over the issue of piracy and that some of the fighters have moved into the region only to claim a share of the ransom.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1123/piracy.html

[trellheim]

Found on slashdot - gmap of 2008 piracy on the high seas

http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=visualization&controller=visualization.googlemap&Itemid=89

[Master Of None]

Found on slashdot - gmap of 2008 piracy on the high seas

http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?opt...emap&Itemid=89

Wow that really shows the cluster that's taking place off Somalia, or as the map shows much closer to Yemen coastline...

[Goldie fish]

Another Cargo ship hijacked.

Yemeni cargo ship hijacked
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 11

Somali pirates have hijacked a Yemeni cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, identified the vessel as the MV Amani but provided no further details.

Another maritime official speaking on condition of anonymity said the ship had been seized last week.

World powers have vowed tough action against rampant piracy off Somalia's coastline, which has disrupted commercial traffic in the Gulf of Aden, a major world maritime trade route.

On 15 November the largest ship ever seized by pirates in the region was hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

Pirates have demanded a ransom of between $15m and $25m for the release of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, with a cargo of 2m barrels of crude oil and a crew of 25.

Somali pirates currently hold at least 17 ships and more than 250 crew.

[hedgehog]

I have a fool proof system to ensure that Piracy will fail

just let FAS look after it

[concussion]

Deal reached over captured Ukraine ship
Sunday, 30 November 2008 20:16

Somali pirates and owners of a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware have reached a deal to release the vessel, a Kenyan maritime official said

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said a deal had been reached but there were ongoing discussions in relation to the release of the ship, crew and cargo.

He said he did not know whether any ransom had been paid.

Gunmen captured the MV Faina on 24 September and demanded $20m (€15.52m) in ransom.

The ship was carrying 33 T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition destined for Kenya's Mombasa port.

A piracy wave in the Gulf of Aden has increased shipping insurance costs, sent foreign warships rushing to the area, and left about a dozen vessels with more than 200 hostages still in hijackers' hands.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1130/piracy.html

[Goldie fish]

The only deals made should be "give us back our ship and its crew safely, or we'll kill all of you."
Paying them off encourages piracy.

[Dogwatch]

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (2nd R, front) is pictured surrounded by officers of the French Navy on December 1, 2008 aboard the warship Surcouf off the coast of Toulon, south-eastern France, after a French Navy special forces squadron underwent training to combat piracy at sea. Fillon promised that the imminent European military operation to combat the piracy in the gulf of Aden would be 'a strong act of dissuasion'. Rampant piracy has sown panic across the shipping world with some shipping firms opting to re-route to the Cape of Good Hope, causing delays and hiking costs. The pirates still defy the presence of foreign navies in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean to carry out brazen attacks.


French commandos practice boarding a mock civilian ship off Toulon during a live demonstration of their capabilities to counter pirates on the high seas, on December 1, 2008. A bid by Somali pirates to hijack a luxury cruise ship was foiled by an international taskforce, officials said, as ransom negotiations for a Saudi super-tanker stretched into overtime. On September 15, Denmark took command of the multinational naval force Task Force 150, aimed at combatting acts of piracy and weapons smuggling in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. A spokesman for the Danish navy, the current lead nation in the NATO taskforce, confirmed the operation had stopped a group of pirates from boarding a civilian vessel which reports said was carrying some 400 passengers and 200 crew. A French navy warship, alerted by the Danish Navy, scrambled a helicopter to the scene, which sent the pirates fleeing, TV2 News said


French marine commandos practice arresting men acting as pirates, off Toulon during a live demonstration of their capabilities to counter pirates on the high seas, on December 1, 2008.


French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (2nd R) surrounded by French Navy chief of staff Admiral Francois Forissier (C), French defence minister Herve Morin (3rd R) and unnamed head of the Navy special forces unit (R) views the special foces unit on December 1, 2008 aboard the warship Surcouf off the coast of Toulon, south-eastern France, after the squadron underwent training to combat piracy at sea

[Goldie fish]

I hear another cruise liner evaded a raid earlier.

[Bandito]

EU NAVFOR Somalia launch on 08 December 2008

The European Union's Naval Force for patrolling the waters of Somalia and the Horn of Africa (EU NAVFOR Somalia) will be launched on Monday 08 December 2008.

The Headquarters for this operation will be at Northwood UK while the Force Headquarters will be onboard one of the Naval Force's ships. The force will have up to 6 ships involved from several EU Member States led by the UK.

The Operational Commander is Rear Admiral Phillip Jones RN while a Greek Commodore will be the Force Commander at sea.

The Headquarters in Northwood has been titled Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa and a website was launched yesterday for use by ship owners and for public information - see - www.mschoa.eu

It would appear that the intention of the EU Naval Force is to target the pirates directly with robust action rather than using the convoy system to escort ships through the area. The belief is that a force of 6 ships is better employed dealing with the pirates than trying to escort hundreds of ships over a vast ocean area.

It will be interesting to see if piracy decreases after Monday's launch of the operation.

[Dogwatch]

The German cruise ship "Astor" was under pirate attack on Nov 28 in the Gulf of Aden. The fregate "Mecklenburg Vorpommern" opened fire as two speed boats approached the ship. One of the boats had increased speed ignoring the order to stop so the fregate fired warn shots. The boats then escaped towards the Yemen. There were 492 passengers on board the "Astor" travelling from Sharm-El-Sheikh to Dubai. The cruise started on Nov 22. and lasted until Dec 3.


Cruise Liner ASTOR


F124 Class Frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

[Dogwatch]

Photos released by Indian Navy shows a pirate vessel after blown up

In this photo released by Indian Navy PRO, anti-piracy operations by Indian Navy's warship INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. An anti-piracy watchdog group on Thursday welcomed an Indian warship's destruction of a suspected pirate vessel in waters off Somalia, where hijackings have become increasingly violent and the hijackers increasingly bold. In a rare victory in the sea war More..against the Somali pirates, the Indian navy's INS Tabar sank a suspected pirate 'mother ship' in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats on Tuesday.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=906_1227606750

[pmtts]

Danish special forces on board a navy warship have destroyed a small boat full of suspected Somali pirates.

Denmark's TV2 channel said that special forces officers captured the alleged pirates, before sinking the vessel.

Click the link to view the video

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7768204.stm

[Goldie fish]

Absalon is paying for itself nicely so far.

[Dogwatch]

Absalon is paying for itself nicely so far.

Shows us what an EPV / Blue-Green ship can do & how nice it would be to have one if not two!