Pirates surrendered but Dutch Marines let them go free!

[motormafia]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090418...Ec2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDcGlyYXRlc3NlaXpl


Pirates seize Belgian ship; NATO frees 20 hostages
AP


In this undated photo provided by the Belgian government, the Belgian ship AP – In this undated photo provided by the Belgian government, the Belgian ship Pompei, owned by De Nul, is …

* Somali Pirates Slideshow:Somali Pirates
* Raw Video: Rescued US captain heads home Play Video Kenya Video:Raw Video: Rescued US captain heads home AP
* Rescued U.S captain arrives in Kenya Play Video Kenya Video:Rescued U.S captain arrives in Kenya Reuters

By KATHARINE HOURELD and TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writers Katharine Houreld And Todd Pitman, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 1 min ago

NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates attacked two ships off the Horn of Africa on Saturday, capturing a Belgian dredger and its 10 crew. NATO forces intervened in the other assault, chasing the pirates down and freeing 20 fisherman on a Yemeni dhow.

The high-seas attacks underscored the dangers in waters off Somalia and east Africa despite the best efforts of an international flotilla that includes warships from the United States and the European Union.

Pirates from anarchic, clan-ruled Somalia have attacked more than 80 boats this year and hold 16 ships and over 290 crew members hostage.

In the first attack, pirates hijacked the Belgian-flagged Pompei in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred miles (kilometers) north of the Seychelles islands, said Portuguese Lt. Cmdr. Alexandre Santos Fernandes, who is traveling with the NATO fleet patrolling the region.

Belgium reported that the ship sounded two alarms early Saturday indicating it was under attack on its way to the Seychelles. It had 10 crew: two Belgians, one Dutch, three Filipinos and four Croatians.

Hours later, pirates further north in the Gulf of Aden attacked a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with small arms and rockets. Fernandes said that ship, the Handytankers Magic, issued a distress call shortly after dawn but escaped the pirates using "speed and maneuvers."

A Dutch frigate from the NATO force responded immediately to the distress call. It trailed the pirates "on a small white skiff, which tried to evade and proceed toward a Yemeni-flagged fishing dhow" that had been sized by the pirates a week ago, Fernandes said.

He said pirates were using the Yemeni vessel as a "mother ship," a boat that allows the pirates' tiny skiffs to operate far off the Somali coast.

The pirates boarded the dhow and Dutch marine commandos followed soon after, freeing 20 fishermen whose nationalities were not known. There was no exchange of fire and Dutch forces seized seven Kalashnikov rifles and one rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Seven Somali pirates were detained, but they were soon released because "NATO does not have any detainment policy," Fernandes said. The seven could not be arrested or held because they were seized by Dutch nationals and neither the pirates, the victims nor the ship were Dutch, he explained.

The Gulf of Aden — a vital short cut between Europe and Asia — is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. For that reason, it has been hard hit by pirates, who can earn $1 million or more in ransom for each hijacked vessel.

Pirates plucked from the sea by navy warships could be tried anywhere from Mombasa to New York, Paris to Rotterdam — but most are simply set free to wreak havoc again because of legal issues.

Among the difficulties facing prosecutors is assembling witnesses scattered across the globe and finding translators. Many countries are wary of hauling in pirates for trial for fear of being saddled with them after they serve their prison terms.

The United States, the European Union and Britain all have signed agreements with Somalia's southern neighbor, Kenya, clearing the way for a slew of court cases in the southern port city of Mombasa. And the most prominent recent case — a scrawny Somali teenage pirate who stormed the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama this month and was later arrested by the U.S. Navy — will be tried in New York.

French soldiers take pirates who have attacked French citizens to Paris; pirates who have attacked other nations are hauled to Kenya, such as the 11 seized Wednesday when the French navy found them stalking a Lebanese-owned ship. India took 24 suspects to Yemen, since half were from there. The Dutch took five suspects to Rotterdam, where they probably will be tried next month under a 17th-century law against "sea robbery."

Britain, the U.S., Germany and France have brought suspects to Kenya, which convicted 10 pirates arrested by U.S. sailors last year. Each is serving a sentence of seven years — the maximum. But a backlog of all sorts of cases in Kenya's courts could mean long delays in trying the pirates.

AccuWeather.com says weather in the region is likely to favor the pirates for the next several weeks. Very small waves and light winds make it easier for the pirates to operate the small speedboats they use to attack ships. Unrestricted visibility at day will help lookouts on vessels watching for attacks, but little or no moonlight works for the brigands, the weather service said.

A small town in Vermont, meanwhile, celebrated the return of the unassuming shipping captain lauded for helping his crew survive a piracy attack off Somalia.

Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, arrived Friday at his farmhouse in Underhill with his wife, Andrea, to find their home festooned with ribbons and "Welcome Home" balloons and the road full of flag-waving, cheering friends and neighbors.

___

Associated Press writers contributing to this report include Michelle Faul and Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi, Larry Neumeister in New York, Aoife White in Brussels, Mike Corder from The Hague, Netherlands, and John Curran in Underhill, Vermont.

 

[motormafia]

It is joke that half the navies for all countries of the world are taking part to fight Somalian pirates, and these poorly armed and non-properly equipped and informally organized pirate, which are not very large in number can do so much and yet the navies are not so capable of handling them.

To me this clearly illustrated and once and again proved that guerrilla warfare & tactics are very efficient against traditional regular forces - even at the seas.

Imagine the 4 pirates so far from their bases on a life boat with a single hostage can fuck with US Navy for 5 days 4 nights. End result is only 3 of them dead. By calculation each single pirate by average fucked the US Navy for more than one full day.

The life boat was being towed (big mistake of pirates) by US warship with a rope of only 20 -30 yards. And yet moronic writers praised US Marine Snipers of good shots killing 3 pirates. AT THIS KIND OF DISTANCE! Not 2000m only 20m! At this kind of short distance the use of sniper weapons itself is already a tactical mistake, because long-ranged sharp shooting rifles to track a target so closely moving on water through the telescopic sights is not only inefficient but torturing the shooters. In this kind of scenario a lighter weapon like MP5 with a laser red dot to aim is best. Not anything too heavy and powerful will be useful. Actually 9mm handguns with laser red dot should do the job @ 20m distance.

Snipers? They should rather go fishing!

SPH 154th morons are kissing US Ass by praising them wrongly, totally wrong!

The Somalian pirates opened the eyes of the world, to have a better assessment of the world naval capabilities.

Poor Obama. :p He has got new enemies. Somalian pirates also want to give him problems.

 

[singveld]

the dutch might as well go home, they dun want to be there, citing such law

 

[PAP_Junta]

the dutch might as well go home, they dun want to be there, citing such law

Shoot and kill and dump them to feed sharks the right way.

Make them the Somalian Shark Baits!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44517651@N00/520280180/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_humungus/163264841/

 

[singveld]

they should chain all together, connect to a big rock and throw overboard

 

[motormafia]

7 Pirates caught but Canadians also let them go free!

Mother CB! What laws are these Ang Mohs morons talking? They got nothing better to do than hunting down pirates with tax payers' money and then let them go free again and again?

Fuck Spider!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy;_...Ec2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbmF0b3NoaXBzaGVs


NATO ships, helicopters hunt down 7 pirates
AP

Video shows French capturing Somali pirates Play Video AFP – Video shows French capturing Somali pirates

* Somali Pirates Slideshow:Somali Pirates
* Hero Captain Phillips' Homecoming Play Video Video:Hero Captain Phillips' Homecoming ABC News
* Clinton announces moves against pirates Play Video Video:Clinton announces moves against pirates AP

This is a photo made available by NATO CC-MAR HQ Northwood, England, taken from AP – This is a photo made available by NATO CC-MAR HQ Northwood, England, taken from the Dutch vessel, HNLMS …
By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 57 mins ago

NAIROBI, Kenya – NATO warships and helicopters pursued Somali pirates for seven hours after they attacked a Norwegian tanker, NATO spokesmen said Sunday, and the high-speed chase only ended when warning shots were fired at the pirates' skiff.

Seven pirates attempted to attack the Norwegian-flagged MV Front Ardenne late Saturday but fled after crew took evasive maneuvers and alerted warships in the area, said Portuguese Lt. Cmdr. Alexandre Santos Fernandes, aboard a warship in the Gulf of Aden, and Cmdr. Chris Davies, of NATO's maritime headquarters in England.

"How the attack was thwarted is unclear, it appears to have been the actions of the tanker," Davies said. Fernandes said no shots were fired at the tanker.

Davies said the pirates sailed into the path of the Canadian warship Winnipeg, which was escorting a World Food Program delivery ship through the Gulf of Aden. The American ship USS Halyburton was also in the area and joined the chase.

"There was a lengthy pursuit, over seven hours," Davies said.

The pirates hurled weapons into the dark seas as the Canadian and U.S. warships closed in. The ships are part of NATO's anti-piracy mission.

"The skiff abandoned the scene and tried to escape to Somali territory," Fernandes said. "It was heading toward Bossaso we managed to track them ... warning shots have been made after several attempts to stop the vessel."

Both ships deployed helicopters, and naval officers hailed the pirates over loudspeakers and finally fired warning shots to stop them, Fernandes said, but not before the pirates had dumped most of their weapons overboard. NATO forces boarded the skiff, where they found a rocket-propelled grenade, and interrogated, disarmed and released the pirates.

The pirates cannot be prosecuted under Canadian law because they did not attack Canadian citizens or interests and the crime was not committed on Canadian territory.

"When a ship is part of NATO, the detention of person is a matter for the national authorities," Fernandes said. "It stops being a NATO issue and starts being a national issue."

The pirates' release underscores the difficulties navies have in fighting rampant piracy off the coast of lawless Somalia. Most of the time foreign navies simply disarm and release the pirates they catch due to legal complications and logistical difficulties in transporting pirates and witnesses to court.

Pirates have attacked more than 80 boats this year alone, four times the number assaulted in 2003, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau. They now hold at least 18 ships — including a Belgian tanker seized Saturday with 10 crew aboard — and over 310 crew hostage, according to an Associated Press count.

___

Associated Press writer David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

 

[motormafia]

Somalian Pirates staved hostages until sick skin & bones!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090419...ges__plight;_ylt=AphSREyn.5JMxQNgNNfSBysBxg8F

Boredom, hunger and fear for pirates' hostages

By PAUL ALEXANDER, Associated Press Writer Paul Alexander, Associated Press Writer – Sun Apr 19, 10:13 am ET

MANILA, Philippines – Some hostages are little more than skin and bones, their food running out and illnesses setting in as negotiations for their release drag on, angering their volatile captors. Others report less brutal conditions, even being allowed to fish for extra provisions.

Still, fear is a constant for all the 300 or so merchant seamen now held by Somali pirates. Life for them — and their families back home — is a grueling stretch of days, weeks, even months in cramped conditions, wondering about the future.

Sometimes there are threats of execution, along with worries of what will happen if their employers refuse to pay ransom and their usefulness as bargaining chips ends.

There is a lot of time to pray.

The U.S. Navy may have rescued an American cargo ship captain and French commandos saved a hijacked yacht in the lawless seas off Somalia, but a military rescue is unlikely for most of the hostages because their ships now lie at anchor in pirate strongholds.

___

Seafarers from the Philippines account for 105 of the prisoners, not surprising for a poor Southeast Asian country that supplies about 30 percent of the world's 1.2 million merchant sailors.

Released hostage Mark Abalos hails from here, and he had spent 10 uneventful years at sea until his ship was waylaid last summer by Somali pirates who clambered aboard from a pair of twin-engine motor boats, brandishing a grenade launcher, an assault rifle, pistols and knives.

Some of the five pirates wore shorts, and two were barefoot, he recalled. They appeared to range in age from 20 to 50 and clearly hadn't bathed in a long time.

But Abalos said they were well organized, a sign that their criminal work has turned into a thriving business, complete with its own makeshift port offshore.

"They pointed at a map on the wall and ordered the captain to change route toward southern Somalia," Abalos said.

The Antigua-flagged MV BBC Trinidad had been a month into a trip hauling logs from Mexico to the Middle East when the pirates boarded last Aug. 21.

A few days later, the boat anchored within sight of Somalia's shore. Two or three other hijacked ships were already there, and others came later.

"The pirates apparently were from different gangs, each with their own hijacked ship, talking through two-way radios about the status of ransom negotiations," Abalos said.

After anchoring, 15 more pirates came out to join the initial hijackers. They asked for information — the ship's cargo, the owner's name and contact details — and took over the satellite phone on board. The chief pirate negotiator went by the name Abdi and spoke English well.

"We can hear Abdi talking," Abalos said. "We figured out they were demanding $8 million."

___

Some hostages have told of mock executions in which pirates, angered that ransom negotiations weren't going well, lined up their captives and fired weapons close to their heads. And there has been at least one gunfight among pirates.

Catherine Boretta, whose husband Rodell is part of a 23-man Filipino crew that has been held for five months, said he was shot in the leg, apparently by a stray bullet when two arguing pirates tried to shoot each other.

She spoke with him by phone April 10. Such calls from a ship's satellite phone or a cell phone are scant — often under a minute and apparently never more than five — and mostly seem designed to urge relatives to pressure ship owners to pay ransom. The pirates usually put the calls on speakers, and hostages warn loved ones not to ask too many questions.

Her husband told her food rations had run out and the sailors were emaciated, Mrs. Boretta said.

"They stay in one room," she said. "They sleep there and wear whatever they were wearing when they were attacked because everything is looted, including clothes, slippers.

"When he calls, my husband's voice would usually be shaking. He told me they were going through hell."

Still, he tries not to tell too much. Mrs. Boretta said she learned about his gunshot wound from the wives of other crewmen. They and shipping company workers passed on reports that the shooting appeared to have been accidental.

"He did not want to tell me about it because I have a heart disease," she said. "When he called and I asked him, he said, 'I was shot in the leg,' but he did not elaborate and said he was OK."

She thinks he is worried about a deep ache in his leg despite not talking in detail. "When he calls he only tells us he loves us, that we should take care and pray," she said.

One thing Mrs. Boretta is sure of is that she doesn't want any rescue attempt and hopes the ship's owner pays a ransom instead.

"The families of hostages are afraid of any rescue attempt because it might put the lives of the hostages in danger," she said.

___

Conditions weren't quite as bad for Abalos and his 12 crew mates.

"We got pillows and sheets from our cabins and we were all ordered to just stay in the bridge," which had air conditioning and a CD player that was constantly cranking out Bon Jovi and other rock songs, he said.

"I knew our fuel would eventually run out. I hoped that it will not run out before ransom was paid," he said.

"It was difficult to sleep. There was constant fear. Sometimes we will wake up to the yells of the pirates when the negotiations were not going well," he said. "When we felt at some point that the negotiations were on the verge of collapsing by the way they were talking, we thought that was the end.

"We constantly prayed. There was a rosary in my pocket. I'm a Christian. My mother, who is Catholic, gave it to me sometime before when I left for a trip."

When the ship's larders ran bare, the pirates brought goat meat and noodles on board.

After 21 days, a tugboat arrived with a long haggled-over $1.1 million ransom.

The pirates began to leave the ship.

"You're free," Abalos said they told the crew.

___

Leszek Adler of Poland was the technical officer on the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which was hijacked off the coast of Somalia in November and released in January.

"Other than a few minor episodes they weren't hostile toward us all, although there were a few of them that had a hotter temper," he said. "They were never nice to us, and treated us the whole time as a potential threat and always acted toward us with a bit of distance.

"They all carried a machine gun with them, and some of them also had a pistol tucked into their belt or under their shirt, while others had knives."

Adler said he and his fellow sailors started rationing their 30-day food supply immediately after their capture, figuring negotiations could drag on for two or three months.

When the food ran out, they were allowed to fish from the deck with a hook and fishing line while a pair of guards watched.

"You put a piece of fish or meat on the end and that was it, kind of like Robinson Crusoe," Adler said with a laugh. "Those waters are very rich in fish, and in about two weeks of fishing we caught more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of fish."

Asked about the potential impact of the recent rescue of the American captain, Adler said: "It will definitely worsen the situation for sailors. The pirates were very careful the whole time, very sensitive to contact with the outside world, and were afraid of a possible rescue attempt the whole time."

___

Despite the risk, men like Adler will keep crewing ships, even to danger zones, because the pay is good. And some know no other work.

But the ties to the sea may be eroding. For Yekaterina Lomakina, her son's ordeal as a hostage has made her hope that her grandsons do not continue the family tradition of life at sea.

Roman Lomakin, of Kerch, a small port city wedged between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, was aboard the Saldanha, a Greek-owned cargo ship seized by pirates off Somalia's coast Feb. 22.

The wait for news has been excruciating.

"We've had no communication with him — none at all," Lomakina said, her voice breaking. "We just watch the TV news — watch and hope."

Lomakin's father and grandfather were sailors, and he and his wife have two sons. "I wouldn't want it for them," his mother said of a life at sea.

It's still too early for the 12-year-old boy to decide his life's work. As for the 4-year-old, he hasn't even been told that his father is a prisoner, Lomakina said.

"He just wants his father back."

___

 

[motormafia]

they should chain all together, connect to a big rock and throw overboard

I fucked Bush for detaining prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. But if he did this to pirates, I will not complain.

Sink the pirates ships by opening fire. At no prisoners.