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10-30-2007, 16:56 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Burgomaster
Join Date: 08-02-03
Location: Minneapolis
Country: 
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Pirate battle off Somalia
Quote:
Crew wins deadly pirate battle off Somalia
(CNN) -- The crew members of a North Korean freighter regained control of their ship from pirates who hijacked the vessel off Somalia, but not without a deadly fight, the U.S. Navy reported Tuesday.
When the battle aboard the Dai Hong Dan was over, two pirates were dead and five were captured, the Navy said.
Three wounded crew members from the cargo ship were being treated aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams.
The captured pirates were being held aboard the North Korean vessel, the Navy said.
Pirates had seized the ship's bridge while the crew was holed up in engineering and steering compartments, the Navy said.
After the Navy received a radio report of the commandeered ship's location, the Williams steamed to intercept the Dai Hong Dan, ordering the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio to give up their weapons.
At that point, crew members stormed the bridge, sparking the deadly battle. After the crew regained control, Navy sailors boarded the Dai Hong Dan to help with the injured.
North Korea and the United States have no diplomatic relations.
The incident took place about 70 miles northeast of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the Navy said.
It is the second incident of piracy reported in recent days. A second U.S. Navy destroyer was searching waters off Somalia for pirates who hijacked a Japanese-owned ship, military officials said.
Over the weekend, gunmen aboard two skiffs hijacked the Panamanian-flagged Golden Nori off the Socotra archipelago near the Horn of Africa, said Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the Kenyan-based Seafarers' Assistance Program.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke has been pursuing the pirates after entering Somali waters with the permission of the troubled transitional government in Mogadishu, U.S. officials said Monday. In recent years, warships have stayed outside the 12-mile limit when chasing pirates.
Two military officials familiar with the details confirmed the ongoing operation.
The Navy's pursuit of the pirates began Sunday night when the Golden Nori radioed for help. The Burke's sister ship, the USS Porter, opened fire and sank the pirate skiffs tied to the Golden Nori's stern before the Burke took over shadowing the hijacked vessel.
When the shots were fired, it was not known the ship was filled with highly flammable benzene. U.S. military officials indicate there is a great deal of concern about the cargo because it is so sensitive.
Benzene, which U.S. authorities have declared a known human carcinogen, is used as a solvent and to make plastics and synthetic fabrics.
Four other ships in the region remain in pirate hands, the Navy said.
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Crew wins deadly pirate battle off Somalia - CNN.com
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The Buck Stops Here
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10-30-2007, 17:07 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Contributor
Join Date: 03-07-07
Location: New York City or Hainan, China
Country: 
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Where's the highest concentration of pirates nowadays?
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10-30-2007, 17:14 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 02-08-07
Location: Kassel
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right there at Somalia due the lack of any cost guard or navy
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uh I might be wrong
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10-30-2007, 18:54 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Administrator
Join Date: 09-03-03
Location: Fort Myers FL
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarek Morgen
right there at Somalia due the lack of any cost guard or navy
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Indonesia actually. |
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10-30-2007, 19:02 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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WAB Court Jester
Senior Contributor
Join Date: 04-12-07
Location: Michigan
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TopHatter
Indonesia actually.
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Around the Mallacan(spelling?)Straits TH?
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A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but
it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
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10-30-2007, 20:14 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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Military Professional
Join Date: 09-11-06
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Pirates
Walter,
Fair to say anywhere between the east coast of Africa to the South China Sea. Seems they've all had problems- Gulf of Siam, Straits of Malacca, Maldives, Sri Lanka and, obviously, the Horn of Africa south to Madagascar.
Arrrgh, matey! Hoist the Jolly Roger and let em' taste our steel, lads!
Again, gf0012's insights here would be particularly valuable. Alas, he's MIA these days. Bummer.
It's serious stuff out there. No place for pleasure yachts. Not without a few .50 cal stations onboard, that's for sure. That still may not be enough. I've heard of war-junks in the Gulf of Siam-heavily armed and faster than most on the water.
Wonder if we got a peek at the N. Korean manifest and cargo? 
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"This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
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10-30-2007, 22:36 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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Administrator
Join Date: 09-03-03
Location: Fort Myers FL
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S-2
Fair to say anywhere between the east coast of Africa to the South China Sea. Seems they've all had problems- Gulf of Siam, Straits of Malacca, Maldives, Sri Lanka and, obviously, the Horn of Africa south to Madagascar.
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Agreed. Tons of traffic, lots of places to hide and even more places to fence your stolen goods.
Here's a few blurbs from a maritime law office's website called cargolaw.com, though the information appears to be from 2000 and therefore a bit dated, though still relevent.
Quote:
...the 2 most dangerous areas without peer are on either side of the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia on one side and the Indonesian Island of Sumatra on the other. This is the main ocean highway from Asia to Europe, used by 50,000 ships per year.
The Number 3 area of concern is Bangladesh. There is even a "General Warning" now in effect for pirates in the area of Port Chittagong.
India ranks 4th in the world; where current government regulations restrict sailing to daylight operations only due to pirate activity.
Having been in 1st place at times during the 1990s, Brazil remains a particular hotbed of pirate activity.
There are generally three categories of pirates.
The first type of pirate is your standard issue low-life criminal. These are scum who find it more expedient to just steal your finger, instead of taking the time to remove your ring.
The second pirate type is a more sophisticated organized crime group such as the five gangs thought to control a significant percentage of piracy in Southeast Asia or one of the several triads believed to control this crime in China.
The third and perhaps the most troubling type is the "Semi-Official Military Pirate," examples of which have been seen in China, Indonesia & Somalia and elsewhere.
When you're all alone at sea, it is particularly scary not to know whether that approaching Chinese Coastguard Patrol Boat is:
(a) The Chinese Coastguard on official government business, or
(b) A real Chinese Coastguard Patrol Boat, but freelancing as a pirate ship to earn some extra cash for the holidays, or
(c) Actual pirates who have merely painted their vessel to look like one of the real Chinese Coastguards. Either way, not much can be done except to hold your breath knowing that an hour later you will either be dead or alive.
Even if the patrol boat is on official business, that's no guarantee of safety.
While the practice seems in decline now that China continues its march toward ascension to the World Trade Organization, recent years have seen Chinese patrol boats foray deep into international waters in search of "customers." When a suitable vessel is located, it is ordered to heave to and follow the patrol boat back into Chinese territorial waters. Once inside a local Chinese port, the vessel would be impounded for "suspicion of smuggling," with both cargo & crew held for ransom.
The Chinese are "Shocked! Shocked*," to see smuggling going on here!* (*"Casablanca" Warner Bros. - 1941)
This has been a tidy way to raise some extra cash on a slow day down at the Chinese coastguard station.
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10-30-2007, 23:14 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Contributor
Join Date: 12-01-06
Location: Colleyville - Grapevine, US
Country: 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TopHatter
Agreed. Tons of traffic, lots of places to hide and even more places to fence your stolen goods.
Here's a few blurbs from a maritime law office's website called cargolaw.com, though the information appears to be from 2000 and therefore a bit dated, though still relevent.
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So they're now posing as the Chinese? What is Asia coming to these days......
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