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So, THIS is the first test for Obama?
Topic Started: Apr 8 2009, 07:45 AM (201 Views)
Piano*Dad
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Bull-Carp
From the WSJ:


Quote:
 
Pirates Seize U.S.-Flagged Ship
By CHIP CUMMINS IN DUBAI and JOHN W. MILLER IN BRUSSELS

Pirates offshore Somalia seized an American-flagged and manned ship carrying food aid Wednesday, raising the stakes for U.S. naval commanders battling a recent surge of attacks in the region.

Pirates attacked the ship early Wednesday morning in the Indian Ocean, about 240 nautical miles southeast of the pirate haven of Eyl, Somalia, according to the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The ship's owner, Danish shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, said 20 American citizens were aboard.

It's the first time Americans sailors have been caught up in the current spate of piracy attacks in the region. It sets up a possible lengthy international hostage situation for the untested administration of President Barack Obama.

Pirates typically release ships and crew unharmed after receiving hefty ransoms. But negotiations can drag on for months.

In recent months, commanders have ordered warships and helicopters to intercept suspected pirate ships and have thwarted dozens of attacks. But once pirates take control of a ship, officials say military options -- like storming the vessel -- generally aren't worth the risk.

In the past, U.S. warships have simply monitored captured vessels, which pirates typically anchor as they negotiate ransoms. It's unclear if the Pentagon will react to the attack differently considering American sailors are aboard.

A Navy spokeswoman in Bahrain declined to comment on possible responses. She said, however, that on Wednesday the closest U.S. warship was still some 300 nautical miles away, or as much as 10 hours steaming.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday morning the government was "assessing a course of action to resolve this situation," adding, "our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board."

Maersk said the vessel, named the Maersk Alabama, was owned and operated by its U.S. subsidiary, Maersk Line Ltd., Norfolk, Va.

The Associated Press, citing the Cape Cod Times, said that the two commanders of the ship were graduates of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The Cape Cod Times reported that Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., was a 1979 graduate, and his second in command, Capt. Shane Murphy, was a 2001 graduate. The Times said Capt. Murphy's father, Capt. Joseph Murphy, was a professor at the school and said his son talked to a class about the dangers of pirates a few weeks ago.

America's commercial shipping fleet has diminished sharply over the years, but many U.S.-flagged general-cargo carriers still ply global waters. Washington contracts American-flagged ships to meet its logistical needs around the world, and Maersk Line is a major shipper for both the U.S. military and the U.S. government.

A Maersk spokesman said in this case the Maersk Alabama's cargo was all food aid, headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa. It was shipping the food for the United Nations World Food Program and other aid agencies, according to company spokesman Michael Storgaard.

The WFP in Kenya confirmed the agency had about 4,100 metric tons of corn soya blend aboard. The blend is used to combat malnutrition in children and mothers, and was destined for Somalia and Uganda, said WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon. Another 990 metric tons of vegetable oil was headed for refugees in Kenya, he said.

Food-aid agencies in East Africa have recently complained about the region's piracy menace. The threat of attacks has made ship owners reluctant to agree to take on routes in the region, forcing up costs for aid agencies and reducing deliveries.

The seizure also appears to be the first successful attack on a container vessel--faster cargo ships with higher hulls that make hostile boardings more difficult. The Maersk Alabama was a relatively small container ship, however, making it an easier target.

"Pirates have only attempted three or four times attacks" against container freighters, said Dirk Visser, a container analyst with Dynamar BV, an Alkmaar, Netherlands-based shipping consultancy. "They were able to get to this one because it was a smaller ship with a low freeboard."

Piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia -- in particular in the critical Gulf of Aden, connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean -- soared last year. In September, pirates seized a cargo ship laden with tanks and other military hardware bound for Kenya. In November, they captured a fully loaded Saudi Arabia-owned oil tanker. Both ships were released after big ransoms were paid.

In response, navies from around the world have sent warships to help patrol the waters. Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy set up a new maritime task force aimed at coordinating some of those efforts. Attacks tapered off somewhat earlier in the year, raising hopes that the military presence was having an effect.

Seasonal bad weather played some role. Somalia pirates typically use small, fast skiffs to lay siege to vessels. They can't operate effectively in high seas.

But attacks in March rose sharply again. By the end of the month, the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, a Kuala Lumpur-based piracy tracker, reported 15 attacks off the east coast of Somalia, compared to two in February and none in January.


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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Arrrrrrrr!
___.___
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o 0
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Cripes.... They need to start sending strafing runs over the area. It's open season on any small Somalian craft.
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Piano*Dad
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Bull-Carp
Well, the most recent news is that the crew has retaken the ship!

Why am I not surprised. Not something that Saudi, Philippino, or Ukrainian crews have thought to do. Now only the captain is a hostage, but the crew apparently has a pirate hostage of its own. :lol2:

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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Piano*Dad
Apr 8 2009, 10:54 AM
Well, the most recent news is that the crew has retaken the ship!

Geez... this could make a good movie.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Frank_W
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The Somalians are so screwed... Hahahahahaha...
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Copper
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Shortstop
Piano*Dad
Apr 8 2009, 10:54 AM
Well, the most recent news is that the crew has retaken the ship!

Why am I not surprised. Not something that Saudi, Philippino, or Ukrainian crews have thought to do. Now only the captain is a hostage, but the crew apparently has a pirate hostage of its own. :lol2:


I guess we know how those sailors feel about a government bailout.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/08/2009-04-08_somali_pirates_seize_usflagged_cargo_ship_with_21_american_sailors_says_diplomat.html

"Using the ship's radio, they negotiated a swap of hostages - but the pirates took their man, and refused to surrender Captain Richard Phillips." Wow.

Why the heck aren't they packing heat?
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Idiots.... Oh, big fooking surprise: The pirates didn't keep their word. :rolleyes:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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