http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5183710.ece

What? Can't rely on their Revolutionary Guard?

Iranian grain ship seized as Somali pirates hold world to ransom
Alarm grows as governments and navies are rendered legally powerless to conduct security operations on the high seasCatherine Philp
Somali pirates struck again yesterday, seizing an Iranian cargo ship holding 30,000 tonnes of grain, as the world’s governments and navies pronounced themselves powerless against this new threat to global trade.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the US military chief, pronounced himself stunned by the pirates’ reach after their capture of the supertanker Sirius Star and its $100 million (£70 million) cargo. Commanders from the US Fifth Fleet and from Nato warships in the area said that they would not intervene to retake the vessel.

The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the owner of the ship, condemned the hijacking as an “outrageous act” that required international action.

“Piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together,” Prince Saud al-Faisal said. Arab diplomats would meet in Cairo on Thursday to discuss what could be done in response, Yemeni officials said.

Related Links
We must defend our high seas
Impoverished land awash with millions of dollars
Keep talking and remain calm, says freed hostage
Multimedia
GRAPHIC: dangerous waters
Piracy map - all reported incidents
Graphic - the taking of a tanker
Analysts said, however, that the seizure of the Sirius Star exposed the use of foreign warships as “a sticking plaster” that would not solve the problem. “Maritime security operations in that area are addressing the symptoms not the causes,” said Jason Alderwick, a maritime defence analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House think-tank, said that the capture was a crucial escalation. “Now that they have shown they are able to seize an enormous ship like this, it is beyond a military solution. You won’t fix this without a political solution.”

Pirates pulled the 333m supertanker yesterday to a mooring point off Harardhere, on the Somali coast. Farther north, Italian, Greek, Turkish, British, American and Russian frigates and warships were patrolling the Gulf of Aden under a UN mandate.

Even there, pirates hijacked a Hong Kong-registered freighter, the Delight, as it carried 36,000 tonnes of wheat to Bandar Abbas. The hijack, the seventh in 12 days, took place near the Yemeni coast, underscoring the new tactic of evading foreign warships by simply sailing beyond their area of operation.

Operations undertaken by the coalition fleet are fraught with legal difficulties, ranging from restrictive rules of engagement to rights of habeas corpus, as the British Navy discovered when it detained eight pirates after a shootout last week. Yesterday the detainees were passed on to Kenya, where efforts to prosecute them will be closely watched for precedent.

The limitations of naval action are refocusing international attention on the conflict within Somalia, where the rule of warlords, the lack of a functioning government and resulting anarchy have spawned the piracy epidemic. The Somali President admitted this weekend that his Western-backed transitional Government was on the brink of collapse, with fighters from the ousted Islamic Courts regime bearing down on Mogadishu.

Washington was instrumental in the ousting of the Islamic Courts, backing Ethiopian troops to throw them out for fear that they would make Somalia a haven for extremists. Since then piracy has soared and, should it worsen – and the violence in Somalia increase – pressure will grow on the international community to reconsider its support for the corrupt and ineffective regime, even if it means the return of the Islamist Courts.

Pirate attacks have also driven up insurance costs, meaning that consumers will have to pay more to buy goods shipped across the world’s seas.

“There is a knock-on effect for consumers in this,” said Clive Washbourn, head of the marine division at Beazley, the specialist Lloyd’s insurer.

“If the amount of attacks and ransoms increases then insurance rates will have to rise. Ship owners will always pass on additional costs to the companies charting ships. They, in turn, will pass costs on to consumers.”

The lawlessness and anarchy that has marked Somalia since the fall of the old Cold War dictator Siad Barre in 1991 proved fertile ground in which a crime almost forgotten in the West has found a new lease of life. The vast sums involved – pirates holding the Ukrainian arms ship Faina are demanding $20 million for its return – bring a plentiful supply of cash in the form of illegal taxes and kickbacks for the warring parties to spend on arms.

Analysts say that the Sirius Star is a double-edged sword to its captors: on the one hand, its high-value cargo means that they can demand a massive ransom; on the other, its political and economic importance put them in greater danger of being intercepted. The pirates are banking on the ship’s owners to handle this as a business transaction rather than a geopolitical crisis. Vela International, the ship’s operator, has begun negotiations.

The fear is that the ease with which the pirates seized such valuable booty will embolden groups with different intentions. “This is not a terrorist act – although I’m sure al-Qaeda will have taken note of the inherent vulnerability of the strategic asset seized by the pirates,” Mr Alderwick said.

quote:

The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the owner of the ship, condemned the hijacking as an “outrageous act” that required international action.

“Piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody

and where was the son-of-a-bitch on 9-11?....laughing?

Maybe they'll hire the Israelis to get their boats back.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by DRG:
Maybe they'll hire the Israelis to get their boats back.

Don

Best Don post in a long time

quote:

Originally posted by DRG:
Maybe they'll hire the Israelis to get their boats back.

Don

It would be my hope the Israelis say "go to hell"....get your own f...... boat back

Maybe the Saudis will attach a few 5" guns to their tankers after this.....and actually learn to defend themselves.

Are not these somali pirates Muslim? Why are they attacking their fellow Muslims?

Well Hell, Thats easy!...

Have obongo shit down and have tea(or cool-aid), have a chat with the pirates.
The pirates will then surly give the ship back.

Right!?

quote:

Originally posted by DRG:
Maybe they'll hire the Israelis to get their boats back.
Don

Now that was funny..


Can we at least agree that the world should put the Somali pirates in the ground where they belong. I doubt you could scrape together a decent human in the whole fucking country of Somalia.

quote:

Originally posted by DRG:
Maybe they'll hire the Israelis to get their boats back.

Don

Don't laugh guys. The new Iranian Navy has glass bottom ships ....



... so they can see the old Iranian Navy.

I heard the screen doors on their submarines won't close all the way. Once they get that glitch taken care of, then they will begin their SpecOps: hire a bunch of students to chant "Death to Somalian Pirates" and burn effigies of them.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Are not these somali pirates Muslim? Why are they attacking their fellow Muslims?

First off al, they are Sunni's and Sunni's hate Shiite's. Second of all, they are pirates. Third of all, just because they were born in a muslim country or into a muslim family, it doesn't mean they practice it.

Wouldn't this be a good place for Blackwater after we leave Iraq? As private security guards they are not bound by the UN or by any rulings other than to defend the ship.

It would seem that until the problem is solved or goes away that maybe the ships would post some guards on deck and when they see a little boat coming they could start shooting at it until it went away, stopped coming or they ran out of bullets. I know that these ships are big, really big but I'll wager you could hire lots of guards for the price of a ransom. Maybe I just don't understand how to deal with pirates.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by 6BR:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Are not these somali pirates Muslim? Why are they attacking their fellow Muslims?

First off al, they are Sunni's and Sunni's hate Shiite's. Second of all, they are pirates. Third of all, just because they were born in a mu slim country or into a muslim family, it doesn't mean they practice it.

Why cant all Allahites get along? silly pirates... dont they know Islam is the religion of peace?!?!?!?!

If they are not careful they will lose their sales pitch tagline

quote:

Maybe I just don't understand how to deal with pirates.

There's only one way to deal with pirates......you shoot them.

Blockade the Somali coast...No one leaves alive...they have to depart from somewhere and resupply from somewhere...

quote:

Originally posted by Alan R. McDaniel, Jr.:
It would seem that until the problem is solved or goes away that maybe the ships would post some guards on deck and when they see a little boat coming they could start shooting at it until it went away, stopped coming or they ran out of bullets. I know that these ships are big, really big but I'll wager you could hire lots of guards for the price of a ransom. Maybe I just don't understand how to deal with pirates.

Alan

I think that's a great idea. Put four 50 BMG full-autos on the ship and you're set.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:

quote:

Originally posted by 6BR:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Are not these somali pirates Muslim? Why are they attacking their fellow Muslims?

First off al, they are Sunni's and Sunni's hate Shiite's. Second of all, they are pirates. Third of all, just because they were born in a mu slim country or into a muslim family, it doesn't mean they practice it.

Why cant all Allahites get along? silly pirates... dont they know Islam is the religion of peace?!?!?!?!

If they are not careful they will lose their sales pitch tagline

I suspect it the same sort of reason Catholics and Protestants have been killing each other. Jesus did preach a message of peace and love thy neighbor's wife's ass.

Or, religion is evil. More people have died in the name of God than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by 6BR:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:

quote:

Originally posted by 6BR:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Are not these somali pirates Muslim? Why are they attacking their fellow Muslims?

First off al, they are Sunni's and Sunni's hate Shiite's. Second of all, they are pirates. Third of all, just because they were born in a mu slim country or into a muslim family, it doesn't mean they practice it.

Why cant all Allahites get along? silly pirates... dont they know Islam is the religion of peace?!?!?!?!

If they are not careful they will lose their sales pitch tagline

I suspect it the same sort of reason Catholics and Protestants have been killing each other. Jesus did preach a message of peace and love thy neighbor's wife's ass.

Or, religion is evil. More people have died in the name of God than anything else.

How many catholic/protestant murders are there in a year? the last 10 years? how about Muslim on muslim crime stats? One is a death cult. Yes lots have died in the name of some idol or made up god but Jesus preached love and forgiveness and those who do not follow that are not Christians. A muslim can murder inocents and still be a Muslim.

I think power, greed and politics have killed more than those following a religious edict.

quote:

Originally posted by 6BR:
Jesus did preach a message of peace and love thy neighbor's wife's ass.

You're obviously a person of extreme stupidity.....welcome to my ignore list!

quote:

Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House think-tank, said that the capture was a crucial escalation. “Now that they have shown they are able to seize an enormous ship like this, it is beyond a military solution. You won’t fix this without a political solution.”

What a PUTZ!

If the Pirates can seize a ship the ship can be seized back.

Force on Force

Watch as the world looks to the USA for a solution on this. After all we have the Navy etc... etc...

This is a world problem that requires a world solution (ie the US Navy)

6 months after we really decide to end it.

America sucks. You imperialists. You killed x civilians. Get lost.