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  • #46
    Seizing pirate fishing boats and Dutch owned merchantmen are two sperate things. The US Navy and the allied states conducitng WoT anti-piracy patrols should be able to run pirates to ground on sight. Enough pirates get fed to the sharks and the piracy will stop. It is also a simple matter to close the fishing gorunds to non-natives, fisheries patrol is somethign most developed nations are very experianced in.

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    • #47
      It is easiest to deal with these scum just prior to their attempts to board the targeted ship. So I still say arm the sailors and let the pirates sink or swim.
      In the region of the Indonesia/ Philippines the pirates were equipping their speed boats with twin 500 hp motors or better. This enables them to easily out run the fastest patrol boats. I don't know if this tactic is used off the coast of Somalia, I would guess that it is. If so just keeping up with the pirates let alone running them to ground can be a tough goal. The local fisher men are the best people to point out who the real pirates are. Get the locals on our side and the true pirates are done for.

      This is the report on the hijacking of the Rozen, 25/02/2007
      The ship departed Berberra port after discharging 1,800 tons of UN food aid when it was hijacked by Somali pirates armed with automatic weapons. The Somali Coast Guard was informed and intercepted the ship. There was gunfire between the hijackers and the Coast Guard ship. None of the 12 crew members, six Sri Lankan and six Kenyans, were hurt. The Coast Guard could not board the ship due to strong resistance from the hijackers who were heavily armed. The ship was released on 2 April after paying a ransom.
      http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDat...D18717/100.pdf

      The pirates in this case demanded $500,000 ransom for the release of the ship and crew. I have seen no word on what the actual ransom amount paid was.
      In other cases though I found this information it's a little out of date but shows this is a big money operation that is getting bigger every year.

      Demands currently were in the USD $ 50,000 to USD$ 700,000 region (pay outs after negotiations range from USD$35,000 to USD$ 300,000) similar to those early on in the Latin America where the figures are now in the USD$ 3million to USD$ 5million range.

      Hostages in the Malacca straits were generally held for just a few weeks, in Somalia and South America four to nine months is common.

      The number of cases each year has boomed while the highest ransom known to have been paid was USD$ 72 million.
      sap-net

      $72 million That type of money involved maybe my ideas would come up short.

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      • #48
        The Horn of Africa seems to me a place being useful for shipping as a transitional harbor. I don't know if this would work in practice, but one could put the Somalian government in a situation where they want to combat piracy as well.
        One helps with building a harbor for them, allows them to tax the arriving vessels. The pirates would be bad for the economy because they would scare away arriving ships.
        One stops paying ransoms. If I was a Somalian and I heard about USD 72 million I would become a pirate as well. The hazards are very low (the occasional US patrol vessel) and the business very rewarding. One asks the "white devil" for the money they took away by capitalism.
        By winning the support of the Somalian government, and shore bombarding one or two pirate bases on the coast (or get a PMC involved) piracy will diminish.
        I know very little about the subject, so I probably have overlooked some important factors.

        What armament would you install on a merchant vessel? I would think about something guided and close range. A TOW like guided missile will do fine to sink a motorboat, IMO. The acquisition systems would have to be optimized to be used by civilian sailors. If a modern vessel even lacks a doctor, the shipping companies would certainly not pay for a weapons officer!

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        • #49
          Pirate battle off Somalia

          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.
          Crew wins deadly pirate battle off Somalia - CNN.com
          "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

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          • #50
            Where's the highest concentration of pirates nowadays?
            Those who can't change become extinct.

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            • #51
              right there at Somalia due the lack of any cost guard or navy

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              • #52
                Originally posted by Tarek Morgen View Post
                right there at Somalia due the lack of any cost guard or navy
                Indonesia actually.
                “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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                • #53
                  Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                  Indonesia actually.
                  Around the Mallacan(spelling?)Straits TH?
                  "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories." Thomas Jefferson

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                  • #54
                    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?;)
                    "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
                    "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

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                    • #55
                      Originally posted by S-2 View Post
                      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.
                      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.

                      ...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.
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                        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.
                        So they're now posing as the Chinese? What is Asia coming to these days......
                        I have no idea what I'm doing. Honestly!

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Navy barred from hot pursuit of pirates

                          Navy barred from hot pursuit of pirates

                          Permission Can Be Given ‘On A Case-To-Case Basis’ After Wider Consultation

                          Rajat Pandit | TNN


                          New Delhi: The Union government has virtually ruled out granting any “blanket permission’’ to the Navy to undertake “hot pursuit’’ of pirates on the high seas.
                          Instead, the government feels the permission can be given “on a caseto-case basis’’ after “wider consultations’’ among the ministries of defence, external affairs, law and shipping on the international legal and diplomatic ramifications, said sources.
                          Moreover, there is no move to dispatch warships to the Gulf of Aden to take “direct action’’ against pirates hijacking hapless merchant ships off Somalia’s coast since it would contravene UN Security Council resolutions. All this comes even as there are no signs of an immediate resolution to the September 15 hijacking of MT Stolt Valor, which has 18 Indians among the 22-member crew, by pirates off Somalia’s coast.
                          Brazen acts of piracy, abduction and armed robbery against ships, their cargo and passengers by pirates based in Somalia has become quite the norm in the Gulf of Aden.
                          With pirates currently holding over 10 merchant ships hostage in the region, international shipping associations have appealed to UN to take urgent steps to battle piracy in Somalian waters. Considering that the Gulf of Aden represents “a major strategic choke point’’ in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), the Navy had recently asked the defence ministry to vest its chief with the decision to promptly dispatch warships after pirates. “We are working with the government to find a way to respond to such situations,’’ said Navy vice-chief Vice-Admiral R P Suthan on Friday.
                          But the government view, after consultations in wake of the MT Stolt Valor hijack, is that Indian warships cannot intervene in Somalian waters because of UNSC resolution 1816, adopted on June 2.
                          The resolution authorises only “states cooperating’’ with Somalia’s “transitional government’’, for a period of six months, to enter its territorial waters to “repress acts of piracy and armed robbery’’ by “all necessary means’’.
                          -------------------------------------------

                          What the heck is the Indian gov thinking. Country which dreams of being a superpower doesn't babysit its armed forces. Our forces are no kindergarten kids that they should need the govt's approval even for going after the hijackers and terrorists. Govt's job is to govern and military's role is to make sure that no one acts funny with the govt and for that they need some freedom. Let the men kick the balls out of the hijackers. Indian Ocean is Indian Navy's playground and let them show that u just don't meddle with the shark when u r at sea.

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                          • #58
                            So in other words take no action, and dont protect your crews (citizens) nor shipping until you have permission that could take days/weeks. But I assure you this it wont take days/weeks for that cargo/ship/crew to see the bottom if thats their intention.

                            I hope like hell their military dont fight like this
                            Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                            • #59
                              only in india!.....

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                              • #60
                                disinformation !!

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