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[Craig Leerman]

US Navy SEALs kille....errr,,, I mean "terminated with extreme prejudice" 3 of the 4 Somali pirates holding Richard Phillips, Capt of the Maersk Alabama.

From what I can gather, the SEALs parachuted into the ocean out of sight of the pirates and swam to the USS Bainbridge. They set up on the fantail (rear) of the destroyer and targeted the pirates with sniper rifles. When it appeared that Capt Phillips life was in imminent danger, they were authorized to engage. Phillips jumped overboard and was uninjured in the firefight. The 4th pirate was captured.

Go Navy!

[John Roberts {JR}]

The US has a long tradition in wasting pirates (Shores of Tripoli... etc.).

I'm glad we were able to enjoy such a clean outcome this time. These things don't always end so neatly. The French just lost one hostage (rescued 4-killed 2 pirates), from a tourist sail boat that was seized by Somali pirates. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-10-france-pirates -sailboat_N.htm?csp=34

The international law on sea piracy is not well developed, but this isn't the real issue or remedy. It's that Somali provides a safe harbor for these pirates to operate from, and most shipping companies just pay them millions in ransom.

We should have cleaned up Somalia (and Sudan) long ago but these days we're already spread a little thin, and the rest of the world is more engaged in their self interest than promoting any greater good.  

JR

[Scott Raymond]

I think shipping any shipping in the area should have a couple Phalanx systems installed.  The pirate problem would disappear quickly...one way or another.    

[Phillip_Graham]

John Roberts  {JR} wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 10:32

The US has a long tradition in wasting pirates (Shores of Tripoli... etc.).

I personally find some interesting parallelism in Bainbridge the boat being used in this particular situation.

Bainbridge the guy was a major player in the First Barbary War, where the "Shores of Tripoli" comes from.

Similar situations, opposite sides of the "Lost Continent"

PS we can thank Thomas Jefferson for deciding that paying 20% of the US budget in tribute to the Barbary Pirates in 1803 was an untenable position, and it was time to take the fight to the source.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Phillip Graham wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 10:29

PS we can thank Thomas Jefferson for deciding that paying 20% of the US budget in tribute to the Barbary Pirates in 1803 was an untenable position, and it was time to take the fight to the source.

Now if we could just do something about the pirates in government,, probably well past 20% burden on our economy, which is only $3T or so.  

Happy april 15th everybody..

JR

[Charlie Zureki]

Scott Raymond (Scott R) wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 10:20

I think shipping any shipping in the area should have a couple Phalanx systems installed.  The pirate problem would disappear quickly...one way or another.

 +1

  Yes, with the electronic systems (and weapons) we have today, I find it ridiculous that any ship could be boarded without the crews knowledge or consent.      No sleeping on the watch!

  Somalia... just another thorn in the shipping lion's paw. I believe these piracy practices will end very soon, including the piracy off the coast of Western Africa.

 Somalians are lousy shots and ignorant in tactical warfare. The driving force of their piracy has been their extreme poverty. They'll need to find a new occupation... their is no "market growth" for piracy.  

Hammer

Next watch..... Haiti  

[John Roberts {JR}]

Charlie Zureki wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 13:30

+1   Yes, with the electronic systems (and weapons) we have today, I find it ridiculous that any ship could be boarded without the crews knowledge or consent.      No sleeping on the watch!   Somalia... just another thorn in the shipping lion's paw. I believe these piracy practices will end very soon, including the piracy off the coast of Western Africa.  Somalians are lousy shots and ignorant in tactical warfare. The driving force of their piracy has been their extreme poverty. They'll need to find a new occupation... their is no "market growth" for piracy.   Hammer Next watch..... Haiti

Gee what could go wrong with arming thousands of freighters with ship-to-ship weapons,    the unintended consequences from that could be problematic.

These poor pirates have enjoyed quite a few multi million dollar paydays, so far... if anything piracy is a growth business in Somalia. They typically don't take down US flagged ships, because most shippers avoid the costly US registry.

Perhaps a UN based coast guard, but like so many topics of the day, the piracy is just a symptom of lawlessness in connection with a safe harbor. Remove the safe harbor and the pirates will go back to their fishing.

JR

[Doug Fowler]

Quote:

Perhaps a UN based coast guard, but like so many topics of the day, the piracy is just a symptom of lawlessness in connection with a safe harbor. Remove the safe harbor and the pirates will go back to their fishing.

Point taken about safe harbor, but smart money says if dude made it back to Mogadishu telling his crones "we were OK until a Hellfire missile sunk our boat" the party would wind down nicely.

BTW what is it these pirates have as a threat to actually be able to board these ships?

[John Roberts {JR}]

Doug Fowler wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 14:37

Point taken about safe harbor, but smart money says if dude made it back to Mogadishu telling his crones "we were OK until a Hellfire missile sunk our boat" the party would wind down nicely. BTW what is it these pirates have as a threat to actually be able to board these ships?

Standard practice is to keep pirates at bay with fire hoses, and that works as often as not. The pirates use small arms (AK47) and are often seen with RPG, but generally sinking the ships doesn't get them a ransom.  

Since most crews are unarmed, if they get close enough despite the fire hoses, the AK-47 is usually adequate.

Black rock offers a security service targeting piracy but there are thousands of tankers and the area to police is pretty large over water. It seems a few drones could splat the pirates easily but IMO that is not the correct pressure point to apply force.

JR

PS: during this particular hostage crisis, I was thinking it would be cute to have a drone submarine (like a drone plane but underwater). Sneak up to the life boat and drill a hole in the bottom... I doubt the Pirates could swim 20 miles to Somalia.

[Kristian Johnsen]

John Roberts  {JR} wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 21:33

Charlie Zureki wrote on Mon, 13 April 2009 13:30  +1   Yes, with the electronic systems (and weapons) we have today, I find it ridiculous that any ship could be boarded without the crews knowledge or consent.      No sleeping on the watch!   Somalia... just another thorn in the shipping lion's paw. I believe these piracy practices will end very soon, including the piracy off the coast of Western Africa.  Somalians are lousy shots and ignorant in tactical warfare. The driving force of their piracy has been their extreme poverty. They'll need to find a new occupation... their is no "market growth" for piracy.   Hammer Next watch..... Haiti   Gee what could go wrong with arming thousands of freighters with ship-to-ship weapons,    the unintended consequences from that could be problematic. These poor pirates have enjoyed quite a few multi million dollar paydays, so far... if anything piracy is a growth business in Somalia. They typically don't take down US flagged ships, because most shippers avoid the costly US registry. Perhaps a UN based coast guard, but like so many topics of the day, the piracy is just a symptom of lawlessness in connection with a safe harbor. Remove the safe harbor and the pirates will go back to their fishing. JR

If the population of the socalled thrird world were able to benefit som real economic growth and follow a lifestyle where there are benefits to be reaped from good old honest work and filling your day with a career instead of scrounging for food, fighting civil wars or fighting off criminals that threaten your family, a lot of these probelems would go away.  

I dream that someday the entire world will be doing as well as most of us are in the western world.

Michael Moore once said "someone who makes 50k$ a year doesn't steal your sneakers".  I think it's a good qoute.