[Hunted]

This aerial photo provided by the French Defense Ministry on Saturday, April 5, 2008, and taken Friday, April 4, 2008 shows gunmen, top left on deck, aboard French cruise ship Le Ponant off Somalia's coast. France's military is keeping close tabs on the French luxury yacht seized by pirates off Somalia's coast, and officials hope to avoid using force to free the 30 crew members, the prime minister said Saturday, April 5, 2008. Attackers stormed the 288-foot Le Ponant on Friday, April 4, 2008 as it returned without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea, officials with French maritime transport company CMA-CGM said



** FILE ** A French commando stands on the deck of the cargo ship Victoria in this Friday, Dec. 14, 2007 file photo taken off the Kenyan coast. Since last month, the merchant ships that deliver 80% of the World Food Program aid have been accompanied by French warships, and host a team of elite French commandos that camp on their deck ,machine-guns at the ready. It was announced Friday April 4, 2008 that pirates have seized control of a French luxury yacht carrying 30 crew members in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's coast, according to the French government and the ship's owner

[kellyhound]

I heard about that on the radio.
Unbelievable things like this still exists.

[Hunted]

Week Later.... updated pic's

Handout photo released by the French Navy and taken 11 April 2008 in the Indian Ocean shows French luxury yacht Le Ponant and French Frigate jean Bart. The French authorities had announced earlier in the day that the captors had released the entire crew of 30 that includes 22 French and 7 Filipino nationals, who had been held for a week.

[Worrymon]

Glad they got out. Apparently piracy on the high seas is just as rampant now as it was in the 17th century in the Caribbean. And that's why Greenpeace is REALLY lucky that they aren't shot when they board ships.

[Worrymon]

Of course, as it tends to happen, I ran into a related article after I posted my opinion....

Pirates can claim UK asylum
Marie Woolf, Whitehall Editor

THE Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights.

Warships patrolling pirate-infested waters, such as those off Somalia, have been warned that there is also a risk that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain.

The Foreign Office has advised that pirates sent back to Somalia could have their human rights breached because, under Islamic law, they face beheading for murder or having a hand chopped off for theft.

In 2005 there were almost 40 attacks by pirates and 16 vessels were hijacked and held for ransom. Employing high-tech weaponry, they kill, steal and hold ships’ crews to ransom. This year alone pirates killed three people near the Philippines.

Last week French commandos seized a Somali pirate gang that had held a luxury yacht with 22 French citizens on board. The hijackers were paid off by the boat’s owner and then a French helicopter carrier dispatched 50 commandos to seize the hijackers and the ransom money on dry land.

Britain is part of a coalition force that patrols piracy stricken areas and the guidance has troubled navy officers who believe they should have more freedom to intervene.

The guidance was sharply criticised by Julian Brazier MP, the Conservative shipping spokesman, who said: “These people commit horrendous offences. The solution is not to turn a blind eye but to turn them over to the local authorities. The convention on human rights quite rightly doesn’t cover the high seas. It’s a pathetic indictment of what our legal system has come to.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “There are issues about human rights and what might happen in these circumstances. The main thing is to ensure any incident is resolved peacefully.”

The guidance is the latest blow to the robust image of the navy. Last year 15 of its sailors were taken prisoner by the Iranians and publicly humiliated.

In the 19th century, British warships largely eradicated piracy when they policed the oceans. The death penalty for piracy on the high seas remained on the statute books until 1998. Modern piracy ranges from maritime mugging to stealing from merchant ships with the crew held at gunpoint.

Source

[Hunted]

Ukrainian ship with 30 tanks seized by pirates off Somali coast

KIEV, Ukraine - The Foreign Ministry says pirates have seized a Ukrainian-operated ship off Somalia.

The ministry says the Faina was sailing with 21 people on board under the Belize flag, though it is operated by Ukrainian managing company Tomax Team Inc.

The ministry says in a statement that the ship's captain reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men Thursday afternoon.

The ship's passengers include 17 Ukrainian citizens including the captain, as well as three Russians and one Latvian citizen.

The ministry had no information on the ship's cargo. But the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying the ship was loaded with about 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for them.

STORY

[Hunted]

This matter will soon come under control. A competent military force has set sail to the region to retrieve some displaced assets. It's doubtful they'll muck about. My guess is when the Somali's recognise it's the Russians, they'll give up immediately.

Russia's navy dispatched a warship to Somalia's coast, officials said Friday, a day after pirates there carried out their boldest attack yet — the capture of a Ukrainian vessel manned with Russian and Ukranian crew and loaded with 33 tanks and ammunition bound for Kenya.

Link

[kellyhound]

Unbelievable this could happen in the first place.

[Hunted]

This is the type of ship to solve the Pirate problem. The LPD-17 must act as a mother ship with Helicopters and small patrol craft working together. Billion dollar destroyers with big missiles wont be as effective as the LPD-17 that can move around smaller assets.

SUEZ CANAL, Egypt(Sept. 23, 2008) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits through the Suez Canal. San Antonio is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)

[kellyhound]

The U.S. destroyer USS Howard and several other American ships have surrounded the cargo ship Faina, which was hijacked Thursday and is now anchored off the lawless coast of Somalia.

The pirates have demanded a ransom of $20 million and the U.S. Navy cordon aims to prevent them from taking any of the weapons ashore.