[Hunted]

Getting bolder as time goes on

REPORTING FROM BEIRUT -- In a dramatic and unprecedented show of prowess, suspected Somali pirates seized an oil tanker deep in open seas, the U.S. military in the Middle East announced today.

The Liberian-flagged Sirius Star oil tanker was hijacked and its multinational crew of 25 kidnapped by pirates in the Arabian Sea on Saturday more than 450 nautical miles from Mombasa, Kenya, the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet said.

Typically, pirates attack within 200 miles of the shoreline and go after smaller prey, said U.S. Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, adding that the pirates were "changing the way they're doing business" in the region.

"What this represents is a fundamental ability of pirates to be able to operate off the coast to an extent we have not seen before," Christensen said in a phone conversation from Manama, Bahrain, home to the 5th Fleet. "It's the largest ship we've seen attacked."

The giant oil tanker is owned by Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Aramco. Crew members include citizens of Britain, Poland, Croatia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, the Navy said. Christensen said the pirates have not made any demands yet.


The Sirius Star, manufactured in South Korea by Dubai-based Vela International Marine Ltd., is classified as a "very large crude-oil carrier," which typically cost about $120 million and can transport up to 2 million barrels of oil.

Piracy has become a scourge in the region with vessels hijacked at sea by assault-rifle-toting Somali bandits on high-speed watercraft. Piracy is another challenge to the already formidable tasks of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as against Al Qaeda militants that will be faced incoming U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus in an area of operations that stretches from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia.

"As is evident with the attack on Sirius Star, increasingly daring attacks are being conducted by Somali pirates on a variety of merchant vessels," the 5th Fleet announcement said.

The U.S. Navy says it and other friendly forces have reduced successful piracy attacks from 53% in August to 31% in October. On Tuesday, a British warship fended off an attack on a Danish commercial vessel, boarding the pirate ship and engaging in a gun battle that resulted "in a number of fatalities," the announcement said.

"Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates' ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack," Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the Combined Maritime Forces, was quoted as saying.

Gortney said military forces cannot be everywhere and urged commercial shippers to employ "self-protection measures" to defend themselves, including hiring private security contractors. Out of the last 15 piracy attacks, at least 10 failed to employ some kind of defensive mechanism, the Navy said.

"Companies don't think twice about using security guards to protect their valuable facilities ashore," he was quoted as saying. "Protecting valuable ships and their crews at sea is no different."

[kellyhound]

On Tuesday, a British warship fended off an attack on a Danish commercial vessel, boarding the pirate ship and engaging in a gun battle that resulted "in a number of fatalities," the announcement said.

pics of that

[chris]

These boats need some bad ass armed security, with the authority to shoot to kill..

[Hunted]

Sounds like an interesting weapon



Pirates thwarted with MP3 sonic blast

LONDON (AFP) — Gone are the swashbuckling days of repelling pirates with cutlasses -- a British firm is spearheading use of a high-tech "sonic laser" to beat bandits on the high seas.
The piracy problems of shipping firms running through the Gulf of Aden and down Africa's east coast have been thrown into the spotlight this week by the seizure of the Saudi Arabian super-tanker Sirius Star.
But help could be at hand in the form of a long range acoustic device (LRAD) -- hooked up to a humble MP3 player.
About the size of a domestic satellite dish, LRADs blast the target with a precise beam of sound -- warning messages, noises, sirens -- which can be turned up to excruciatingly painful levels should an attacker get too close.
British private firm Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS) hires out three-man teams of ex-military personnel bearing LRADs on ships and has been inundated with work as the piracy problem off Somalia worsens.
"You'll be in absolute agony," APMSS chief executive Nick Davis, a 38-year-old ex-army man, told AFP.
"They're loudhailers that are coupled up to an MP3 player.
"It's very effective up to 1,000 metres and excruciating if you get within 100 to 200 metres if it's at full power. It would give you more or less permanent hearing damage."
With close to 100 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this year, pirates pose an increasing threat to international trade.
Heavily in demand, APMSS will have its full complement of 10 three-man security teams operating on ships in the Gulf of Aden next week.
Hiring a team with all the equipment for a three-day journey costs around 14,000 pounds (21,00 dollars, 16,500 euros) inclusive of insurance and travel costs.
Davis said his firm uses a "non-lethal approach", adding: "but you've got to get very close to lethal for it to be an effective deterrent".
"The operator can point the dish towards the incoming pirate boats and initially give them warning tones and then messages to make their intentions clear.
"If they continue coming, they give them a warning in their native language," he said.
An APMSS crew thwarted a pirate attack on a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden last Thursday, just 15 miles (24 kilometres) off the Yemeni coast.
Three skiffs hurtled towards the vessel, but were spotted by the team at five miles away, triggering a full response with evasive manoeuvres, water cannon, an alert to coalition forces -- and the LRAD.
"At two miles they sounded the general alarm. The pirates slowed down at around 600 metres and continued to 400 metres, waving AK47s," Davis said.
But the sonic blast put them off.
"The pirates then turned away and went to the vessel without security that was three to four miles behind ours," he said.
"They fired against the vessel, by which time, luckily, the French navy were only 40 miles away. A Lynx helicopter was dispatched and when the pirates saw that they diverted towards the Yemeni beach.
"That attack was foiled. A good encounter."

Link

[kellyhound]

That's cool. I was thinking about high pressure watercanons

[Hunted]

Haaa Haaa...... This is Great!



Islamists on the trail of Somali pirates

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Dozens of Somali Islamist insurgents entered a port on Friday in search of the pirate group behind the seizure of a Saudi supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said.

Separately, police in the capital Mogadishu said they ambushed and shot dead 17 Islamist militants, in the latest illustration of the chaos in the Horn of Africa country that has fueled a dramatic surge in piracy.

The Sirius Star -- a Saudi vessel with a $100 million oil cargo and 25-man crew from the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Poland and Britain -- is believed anchored offshore near Haradheere, about half-way up Somalia's long coastline.

"Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country and hijacking its ship is a bigger crime than other ships," Sheikh Abdirahim Isse Adow, an Islamist spokesman, told Reuters. "Haradheere is under our control and we shall do something about that ship," he said.

Both the U.S. Navy and Dubai-based ship operator Vela International said they could not confirm media reports that the hijackers were demanding a $25 million ransom.

That would be the biggest demand to date by pirates who prey on boats in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia.

An upsurge of attacks this year has forced up shipping insurance costs, made some firms go round South Africa instead of via the Suez Canal, brought millions in ransom payments, and prompted an international naval response.

In Mogadishu, police said they laid in wait and shot dead 17 fighters from the militant al Shabaab insurgent group during an attempted attack on a senior official.

The Islamist rebels have been fighting the government and its Ethiopian military allies for about two years. They launch near-daily guerrilla strikes in the capital and control most of south Somalia, including a town just nine miles to the south of Mogadishu..........

More text in the link

Time for some beheadings....

[Hunted]

Interesting information about the 'Pirate Economy' in Somalia.

Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women — even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

In Haradhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast. Businessmen started gathering cigarettes, food and cold glass bottles of orange soda, setting up small kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to re-supply almost daily.

Dahir said she is so confident in the pirates, she instituted a layaway plan just for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot.

towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators — allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.

The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to a Western palate. They also keep a steady supply of cigarettes and drinks from the shops on shore.

The pirates use money-counting machines — the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide — to ensure the cash is real. Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas.

Seems they treat their prisoners quite a bit better than does the US military. Catered meals, fresh supply of ciggies. Wonder if they allow em prostitute visits? Now all that's left is for some enterprising Euro to start 'Pirate Cruises', where a ship full of tourists goes on a tour of the Somali coast where they then stop and wait for pirates to board them and take them into port. Once in port, they are then waited upon hand and foot by the local villagers, and big parties aboard ship by night. Finally, on the day the ransom is delivered, it can be customary for the pirates to throw a big bash and pass out "tips" to the prisoners before giving them a big sendoff the following morning - replete with leis and a parting gift like a bag of coffee or a souvenir trinket to commemorate the experience. I suspect that business would be quite brisk....

[chris]

It's amazing this shit still goes on..

[Hunted]

yea!

Somali pirates drown with share of ransom

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship.
The Sirius Star and its 25 crew sailed safely away Friday at the end of a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates attacked over 100 ships last year. Hundreds more kidnapped sailors remain in the hands of pirates.
The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas, and family members were still looking for four missing bodies, said Daud Nure, another pirate who knew the men involved.
Piracy is one of the few ways to make money in Somalia. Half the population is dependent on aid and a whole generation has grown up knowing nothing but war. A recent report by London's Chatham House think-tank said pirates raked in more than $30 million in ransoms last year.
Somalia's lawless coastline borders one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Attacks have continued despite the patrols by warships from France, Germany, Britain, America, India and China.
The naval coalition has been closely monitoring both the Sirius Star and the Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with military tanks that has been held since September. The seizure of the Sirius Star on Nov. 15 prompted fears that the pirates might release some of the cargo of crude oil into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster as a way of pressuring negotiators. At the time, the oil was valued at $100 million.
Abukar Haji, uncle of one of the dead pirates, blamed the naval surveillance for the accident that killed his pirate nephew Saturday.
"The boat the pirates were traveling in capsized because it was running at high speed because the pirates were afraid of an attack from the warships patrolling around," he said.
"There has been human and monetary loss but what makes us feel sad is that we don't still have the dead bodies of our relatives. Four are still missing and one washed up on the shore."
Pirate Daud Nure said three of the eight passengers had managed to swim to shore after the boat overturned in rough seas. He was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.
"Here in Haradhere the news is grim, relatives are looking for their dead," he said.
The tanker had left Somali territorial waters and was on its way home Saturday, said Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Naimi. A Saudi Oil Ministry official said the ship was headed for Dammam, on the country's Gulf coast, but gave no estimated time of arrival. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The U.S. Navy, which announced this week it will head a new anti-piracy task force, released photos Friday showing a parachute, carrying what was described as "an apparent payment," floating down toward the tanker.
The Liberian-flagged ship is owned by Vela International Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of Saudi oil company Aramco. Neither commented on the reported ransom drop.
"All the crew members are safe and I am glad to say that they are all in good health and high spirits," said a statement by Saleh K'aki, president and CEO of Vela. "Throughout this ordeal, our sole objective was the safe and timely release of the crew. That has been achieved today."
But over a dozen ships and around 300 crew members are still being held. The capture of the Sirius Star has already demonstrated the pirates' ability to strike high value targets hundreds of miles offshore.
On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran's state television reported Saturday. The ship Delight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew are in good health and the vessel is sailing toward Iran, the TV report said. It did not say if a ransom was paid.

[Hunted]

A parachute dropped by a small aircraft drops over the MV Sirius Star at anchor, in this U.S. Navy photo, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009, following an apparent payment via a parachuted container to pirates holding the ship. Somali pirates released the oil-laden Saudi supertanker after receiving a $3 million ransom, a negotiator for the bandits said Friday. The ship owner did not confirm it. The brand new tanker, with a 25-member crew, was seized in the Indian Ocean Nov. 15 in a dramatic escalation of high seas crime.