Pirating alive and well - on a scary grand scale

[Bill Glasheen]

More fun with pirates on the high seas. From USA Today.

- Bill

Pirates fire on U.S. cruise ship in hijack attempt

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships, a maritime official said Tuesday.

The M/S Nautica, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crewmembers, was sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six bandits in two speedboats, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The pirates fired at the passenger liner but the larger ship was faster than the pirates' vessels, Choong said.

***

[Jason Rees]

Score one for the good guys.

[Bill Glasheen]

The good guys avoided another one, but the pirates just keep getting bolder.

And the problems are out there for all to see (e.g. the mother ship fishing traulers), and yet they hide behind International Law.

- Bill

Somali pirates fail to seize ship off Tanzania

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked a Dutch-operated container ship off the coast of Tanzania but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said Sunday.

The attack Saturday shows the pirates are becoming bolder and extending their reach further from their base in Somalia, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Eight pirates in two speedboats chased and opened fire at the ship about 520 miles east of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, starting a fire on the vessel that was quickly doused by the crew, he said.

"The pirates used RPGs and automatic weapons to attack the ship but it managed to escape after the captain increased vessel speed," Choong said.

The ship, which has 19 crewmembers, flies a Hong Kong flag but is operated out of the Netherlands, he said.

Choong said a white-hulled fishing vessel was spotted nearby and was suspected to be the pirates' mother vessel.

***

- USA Today

[Glenn]

The tide appears to be turning against the Somali pirates.
U.N.: Militaries can pursue Somali pirates on land

(CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Tuesday aimed at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirates onto land in cases of "hot pursuit."

Military forces from various countries, including the United States, are patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia, where attacks have surged this year. Nearly 100 vessels have come under fire, according to the International Maritime Bureau, and almost 40 vessels have been hijacked.

The Security Council resolution, which passed unanimously, expands upon existing counter-piracy tools, including a stipulation that would allow for national and regional military forces to chase pirates onto land -- specifically into Somalia where many of the pirates are based.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at the U.N. on Tuesday for a discussion of the piracy problem and the Security Council vote.

"I wouldn't be here seeking authorization to go ashore if the U.S. government -- perhaps most importantly the president of the United States -- were not behind this resolution," Rice said after the vote.

Asked if she thought U.S. troops would soon be on land chasing pirates, Rice would not speculate.

"The United States is part of an international effort," she said. "We do have naval forces that have been involved in this effort. What this (resolution) does is to authorize that the boundary of the maritime cannot become a safe haven boundary for pirates. What we do -- or do not do -- in issues like hot pursuit, we'll have to see ... case by case."

Earlier, in remarks to the Security Council, Rice described the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia as "a symptom."

"It's a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades," she said, adding that the Bush administration "does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation."

Asked about reports that two more ships were attacked by pirates this week, Rice said those show "the increasing problem that this is. The pirates are a threat to commerce, they are a threat to security and perhaps most importantly they are a threat to the principle of freedom of navigation on the seas."

With increased patrols in the area by several countries, reports of exchanges of fire have become more frequent.

In one of the most recent piracy attacks, Indian officials said Saturday they had captured 23 people suspected of trying to take over a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects, Indian navy officials also seized two small boats and "a substantial cache of arms and equipment," the Indian military said in a statement.

[cxt]

Its the "bolder" part that gets me...sooner or later they are going to cross a line and really hack someone off......perhaps a nation/state that has the means and will to wipe them out.

Then again, historically, that seems to be their SOP....the pirates of Tripoli operated for what? Decades to centuries depending on how you count it and all they are now is a line in a song.

It would seem to be smarter for them to NOT want so much focus and media concern...."bolder" would seem to be a lot more dangerous to their long term survivial.

But nobody ever said they were "smart" just ruthless.

[TSDguy]

And China's Navy leaves its own waters for the first time. That's fun.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... C1-4UD10hw

[Jason Rees]

They're trying to flex their muscles as an emerging world power. Fighting disorganized pirates would probably seem a no-lose scenario to them, and some gain in impacting world affairs.

[Halford]

Piracy,like cannibalism, slavery, witchcraft, human sacrifice, and a host of other practices that have a long history are still alive and well in this 'modern' age of so-called hi tech, cyberspace,etc. You have also to note that the use of basic and primitive weapons, from stones and sticks, to knives and rope,etc. still comprise the arsenals of those who have none of the high-tech firepower available to the ruthless killers who employ such in their quest for power and control and the confiscation of lands, property and wealth,etc. Of course, there is much more to be said, but if you study history you find that slaughter has often been the order of the day. Have a good one! Keep up the good work. Halford