It seems that the pirates are only going after the easy pickings. When they might be in danger, they want no part of the action.
What is interesting is that a lot of the governments keep saying that the ships should not take things into their own hands and should let the multinational forces keep every thing under control. With the large area and the number of ships present, maybe arming the ships is a good thing as this does prove.
UNSUCCESSFUL Attack on another US flagged ship... about 10 hours ago.
Earlier today, there was yet another attack by pirates on a US vessel. As usual, the pirates were armed with automatic weapons and RPGs, which were fired at the Liberty Sun. Luckily, the pirates were unsuccessful this time when they made a run at the cargo ship, sailing from Houston, with a crew of 20 Americans. .
My local (REALLLY LOCAL) paper had an interview this week with the Chief Engineer of the Liberty Sun this week, who lives in our area. I thought you would all find this very interesting.
Some of the things he said were very thought-provoking, such as:
"Pirates, usually in small powerboats which are dispersed from a larger “mother ship,’’ try to board the huge cargo vessels from the stern, the lowest and flattest point of the ship. Harrington, who as chief engineer was in charge of ship security, built a plywood wall on the stern to keep pirates from climbing onboard."
“The public romanticizes them...but Somali pirates are organized crime. Big money is being spent in Kenya buying real estate. There’s a high rise building that is pirate headquarters,” he said.
Pirates can extort $1 million or more for each ship and crew — and Kenya estimates they raked in $150 million last year, according to national news reports.
The pirates have independent auditors who make sure hijacked crews are healthy and have water, and other necessities, he said. “It’s a business.’’"
"Harrington said 300 ships go through the Gulf of Aden each day. “It’s like target practice for these guys. We’re like lambs to the slaughter,’’ he said, adding that he believes the French government has the right response. “I love the French. They slaughter (pirates), sink their boats and nobody knows about it.’’ However, he doesn’t believe arming cargo ships is the right tactic."
Seems that, while I was safely cruising the Caribbean last week, another ship in other waters was taken by pirates. Here's a story about two of the crew members of that ship:
Recently Reunited Father and Daughter Among Those Kidnapped by Pirates
Thursday, May 07, 2009
BUCHAREST, Romania — Hartin Sarchizian and his only child Ruxandra had not seen each other in two years — but their joy at being reunited on a ship where they both were working was short-lived.
Just one month after their reunion, Sarchizian and his 31-year-old daughter were among those taken hostage Tuesday by Somali pirates.
The U.S. Navy says the MV Victoria, a German cargo ship with 11 Romanian crew, was captured in the Gulf of Aden. The Kru Martime recruiting company has identified the 11 sailors. Eight are from the Black Sea port of Constanta, including the Sarchizians.
The pirate who was brought to New York to stand trial hassnow been indicted on piracy charges.
It has now been etermined that he iss 18 years old, and can be tried as an adult. Not such a tough guy after all, he actually cried when he found out that his attempt to claim he was only 15 had been unsuccessful, and he would nt be tried as a juvenile, as he ha hoped. Guess he just wanted to "earn" thata grown-up money, without really being a grown up!
Last Friday, there were two unsuccesful pirate attacks inside the area patrolled by a the anti piracy task force in the Guf of Aden.
One of those two attempts was on the Maersk Virginia - owned by the same shipping company as the Maersk Alabama, which is the ship that made piracy headlines during much of last month.
From a FoxNews story:
The Virginia increased its speed to more than 21 knots, began evasive maneuvers, and contacted authorities . . .. Naval warships . . . responded to the situation and deployed helicopters to counter the pirates, who reached a distance of 0.75 nautical miles from the Virginia . . . .
No shots were fired, and the 19 crewmembers, all U.S. citizens, are safe. The Maersk Virginia was traveling in the defined security corridor, about 70 miles south of Yemen, when the incident occurred.
Some extreemely interesting reading in this article abourt the emergence and growing popularity of shipriders - hired guns that ride aloiong to protect against pirate attacke.... and some of the problems encountered by the companies fielding these agents.
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