Scum

[saint]

Disagree with US "interference'"..Everybody screams about the US being the world's policeman. The vast majority of the ships there and shipping in general are not US owned, registered, crewed, or insured. Let the Greeks, Italians, Koreans, Japanese, Saudis, etc. provide their own security or pay the damm ransom. Or wait, I've got a better idea, let's let the UN talk the pirates to death. or maybe they can issue a white paper "decrying the actions taken by the pirates". There is no way this can be prevented until the individual ships have professional armed security teams aboard while in these waters. The pirate boats are too small and the area is too big.

=D> =D> =D>

stan , you forgot liberia and panama , these two flags of convenience account for a major percentage of the worlds shipping tonnage .

[BKKSTAN]

Instead of running around all over the place like a bunch of headless chickens why dont they just use a convoy system like they did in WW2. Assemble the ships in one area and take them all through together, the armed ships then turn around and escort the ships that have assembled at the other side. Safety in numbers

I think that is the main question!Why not arm and convoy them?

[Miruku]

Not in anyway justifying their activities but I did read that mainly European countries for decades have been dumping millions of tonnes of toxic waste (which they are not permitted to dump in their home countries) from such vessels into the sea off the coast of Somalia which has totally destroyed forever the once abundent fish stocks and the fishermen's sole source of income.

Perhaps somebody stopping such ecological vandalism years ago could have prevented the current state of affairs.

Miruku

[Aardvark]

Miruku, if there is any truth in it then it is a travesty and should be condemned of course. Whats happening now is first opportunism and secondly greed. I don't know if you caught 60 minutes last week but they were talking to one of the War Lords there, and there was no doubt in my mind that he was nothing more than a filthy thief who wouldn't do a decent days work no matter what he was paid. I'm with La and others, gun em down en mass and eventually it will stop.

[BobHelm]

Miruku seems to be discussing something that is more than just a rumour - although it seems to be illegal fishing by other countries as much as any "dumping".

http://www.geocities.com/gabobe/illegalfishing.html
http://allafrica.com/stories/200904020814.html
http://illegal-fishing.info/item_single ... oach_id=12

Although I don't think this justifies in any way the activities that they have undertaken as a substitute for fishing. 1,000s of fishermen have lost their livelihood in the UK but, as far as I am aware none have turned to piracy...

[jingjai]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_re_af/piracy

CREW TAKES US SHIP FROM SOMALI PIRATES
By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 26 mins ago

NAIROBI, Kenya – In a riveting high-seas drama, an unarmed American crew wrested control of their U.S.-flagged cargo ship from Somali pirates Wednesday and sent them fleeing to a lifeboat with the captain as hostage.

The destroyer USS Bainbridge, one of a half dozen warships that headed for the area, arrived at the scene Thursday morning a few hours before dawn, said Kevin Speers, a spokesman for the company that owns the Maersk Alabama. He said the boat with the pirates was floating near the ship, the first with an American crew to be taken by pirates off the Horn of Africa.

Speers said officials were waiting to see what happens when the sun comes up. Crew members had been negotiating with the pirates Wednesday for the return of the captain.

A family member said Capt. Richard Phillips surrendered himself to the pirates to secure the safety of the crew.

"What I understand is that he offered himself as the hostage," said Gina Coggio, 29, half sister of Phillips' wife. "That is what he would do. It's just who he is and his responsibility as a captain."

Details of the day's events emerged sporadically as members of the crew were reached by satellite phone, providing a glimpse of the maneuvering.

A sailor who spoke to The Associated Press said the entire 20-member crew had been taken hostage but managed to seize one pirate and then successfully negotiated their own release. The man did not identify himself during the brief conversation.

The crisis played out hundreds of miles off the coast of Somalia — one of the most lawless nations on earth. President Barack Obama was following the situation closely, foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said.

The Maersk Alabama was the sixth vessel seized by Somali pirates in a week. Pirates have staged 66 attacks since January, and they are still holding 14 ships and 260 crew members as hostages, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a watchdog group based in Kuala Lumpur.

Somalia's 1,900-mile (3,057-kilometer) long coastline borders one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and offers a perfect haven to the heavily armed pirate gangs. They often dress in military fatigues and use GPS systems and satellite phones to coordinate attacks from small, fast speedboats resupplied by a larger "mother ship.".

The pirates usually use rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank rocket launchers and automatic weapons to capture large, slow-moving vessels like the U.S.-flagged 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama, which was carrying food aid from USAID and other agencies to help malnourished people in Uganda and Somalia.

According to reports from the crew, the pirates sank their boat when they boarded the ship. The captain talked them into getting off the vessel using one of the ship's lifeboats.

Second Mate Ken Quinn told CNN in a live interview Wednesday that the crew also had held a hostage.

"We had a pirate, we took him for 12 hours," Quinn said. "We returned him, but they didn't return the captain."

Maersk Line Limited CEO John F. Reinhart said his company received a call that indicated the crewmen were safe. But the call got cut off, and the company could not ask any more questions.

It remained unclear how the unarmed sailors could have overpowered pirates armed with automatic weapons.

Capt. Shane Murphy, second in command on the ship, told his wife, Serena, that pirates had followed the ship Monday and pursued it again for three or four hours before boarding it Wednesday morning, family members said.

The ship was taken about 7:30 a.m. local time some 380 miles (610 kilometers) east of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Analysts say many of the pirates have shifted their operations down the Somali coastline from the Gulf of Aden to escape naval warship patrols.

Reinhart said the company's vessels had received a heightened alert about piracy activity. He did not have particulars about how the ship was taken, but said the crew's orders were to hide in safe rooms until aid came. They did not have weapons, he said, and typically, their defense would be to fight the pirates off with fire hoses as they climbed up the stern.

Andrea Phillips, the captain's wife, said her husband had sailed in those waters "for quite some time" and a hijacking was perhaps "inevitable."

Coggio, speaking to reporters from the porch of the Phillips' farmhouse in Underhill, Vt., said the family had been told negotiations were being conducted to get the captain back to the boat.

Capt. Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said his son was a 2001 Massachusetts Maritime Academy graduate who recently talked to a class about the dangers of piracy.

The younger Murphy wrote on his Facebook profile that he worked in waters between Oman and Kenya.

"These waters are infested with pirates that highjack (sic) ships daily," Murphy wrote on the page, which features a photograph of him. "I feel like it's only a matter of time before my number gets called."

Joseph Murphy said his son was trained in anti-piracy tactics at the academy and received training with firearms and small-arms tactics.

Piracy expert Roger Middleton from London-based think-tank Chatham House said it was unclear whether the pirates knew they were hijacking a ship with American crew, but the incident would strengthen the hand of those in American military circles who want to take a more robust approach to anti-piracy operations.

Multimillion dollar ransoms are fueling a piracy explosion. There were 111 attacks in 2008, and more than half that number have occurred in the first four months of this year. Last year, pirates made off with up to $80 million in ransom money, said Middleton. Those hauls included payment for a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship loaded with military tanks, both of which were later released.

NATO already has five warships in the Gulf of Aden and is planning to deploy a permanent flotilla to the region this summer.

The hijackings — and the resulting jumps in insurance fees and shipping costs — have prompted many countries to send their navies to the region. The NATO warships patrol alongside three frigates from the European Union, and up to 10 American ships. India, China, Japan, Russia and other nations also cooperate in the international patrols.

U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said the closest U.S. ship at the time of the hijacking was 345 miles (555 kilometers) away.

"The area the ship was taken in is not where the focus of our ships has been," Christensen said. "The area we're patrolling is more than a million miles in size. Our ships cannot be everywhere at every time."

It's a lesson the Somali pirates have taken to heart, venturing hundreds of miles offshore to capture a British ship, a Taiwanese trawler, a Yemeni tug, a German vessel and a French yacht in the past week.

In an interview with the AP, a man identified by villagers as a pirate, said his gang was not merely a band of ruffians, but a well-organized, business-minded group that also had philanthropic concerns.

"We have leaders, investors, young people who go to the sea for hunting ships and also negotiators in many areas," said the man, who identified himself only as Madobe. He said he was in his 20s.

Douglas J. Mavrinac, the head of maritime research at investment firm Jefferies & Co., said using U.S.-flagged ships with American crews was rare because of the high costs. But they are used to carry U.S. government aid.

There are fewer than 200 U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters, said Larry Howard, chair of the Global Business and Transportation Department at SUNY Maritime College in New York.

Associated Press writers Barbara Surk in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Pauline Jelinek in Washington; Ray Henry in Massachusetts; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen; Samantha Bomkamp in New York; and Tom Maliti and Anita Powell in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

Another related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_ ... /us_piracy

[Miruku]

This is an article from Al Jazeera dated 11/10/2008

Quote
Saturday, October 11, 2008
12:21 Mecca time, 09:21 GMT


FRONT PAGE

News Africa
'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy
By Najad Abdullahi




Some pirates operating off Somalia's coast claim to act as coastguards [GALLO/GETTY]

Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8m ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste.

The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.

"The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas."

The pirates are holding the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and military hardware, off Somalia's northern coast.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, 61 attacks by pirates have been reported since the start of the year.

While money is the primary objective of the hijackings, claims of the continued environmental destruction off Somalia's coast have been largely ignored by the regions's maritime authorities.

Dumping allegations

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline.

"I must stress however, that no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible," he said

The pirates are holding the MV Faina off Somalia's northern coast [Reuters]
Allegations of the dumping of toxic waste, as well as illegal fishing, have circulated since the early 1990s.

But evidence of such practices literally appeared on the beaches of northern Somalia when the tsunami of 2004 hit the country.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reported the tsunami had washed up rusting containers of toxic waste on the shores of Puntland.

Nick Nuttall, a UNEP spokesman, told Al Jazeera that when the barrels were smashed open by the force of the waves, the containers exposed a "frightening activity" that has been going on for more than decade.

"Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there," he said.

"European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne.

"And the waste is many different kinds. There is uranium radioactive waste. There is lead, and heavy metals like cadmium and mercury. There is also industrial waste, and there are hospital wastes, chemical wastes – you name it."

Nuttall also said that since the containers came ashore, hundreds of residents have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections and other ailments.

"We [the UNEP] had planned to do a proper, in-depth scientific assessment on the magnitude of the problem. But because of the high levels of insecurity onshore and off the Somali coast, we are unable to carry out an accurate assessment of the extent of the problem," he said.

However, Ould-Abdallah claims the practice still continues.

"What is most alarming here is that nuclear waste is being dumped. Radioactive uranium waste that is potentially killing Somalis and completely destroying the ocean," he said.

Toxic waste

Ould-Abdallah declined to name which companies are involved in waste dumping, citing legal reasons.

But he did say the practice helps fuel the 18-year-old civil war in Somalia as companies are paying Somali government ministers to dump their waste, or to secure licences and contracts.

"There is no government control ... and there are few people with high moral ground ... [and] yes, people in high positions are being paid off, but because of the fragility of the TFG [Transitional Federal Government], some of these companies now no longer ask the authorities – they simply dump their waste and leave."

Ould-Abdallah said there are ethical questions to be considered because the companies are negotiating contracts with a government that is largely divided along tribal lines.

"How can you negotiate these dealings with a country at war and with a government struggling to remain relevant?"

In 1992, a contract to secure the dumping of toxic waste was made by Swiss and Italian shipping firms Achair Partners and Progresso, with Nur Elmi Osman, a former official appointed to the government of Ali Mahdi Mohamed, one of many militia leaders involved in the ousting of Mohamed Siad Barre, Somalia's former president.

At the request of the Swiss and Italian governments, UNEP investigated the matter.

Both firms had denied entering into any agreement with militia leaders at the beginning of the Somali civil war.

Osman also denied signing any contract.

'Mafia involvement'

However, Mustafa Tolba, the former UNEP executive director, told Al Jazeera that he discovered the firms were set up as fictitious companies by larger industrial firms to dispose of hazardous waste.

"At the time, it felt like we were dealing with the Mafia, or some sort of organised crime group, possibly working with these industrial firms," he said.

Nations have found it difficult to tackle
the problem of piracy [AFP]
"It was very shady, and quite underground, and I would agree with Ould-Abdallah’s claims that it is still going on... Unfortunately the war has not allowed environmental groups to investigate this fully."

The Italian mafia controls an estimated 30 per cent of Italy's waste disposal companies, including those that deal with toxic waste.

In 1998, Famiglia Cristiana, an Italian weekly magazine, claimed that although most of the waste-dumping took place after the start of the civil war in 1991, the activity actually began as early as 1989 under the Barre government.

Beyond the ethical question of trying to secure a hazardous waste agreement in an unstable country like Somalia, the alleged attempt by Swiss and Italian firms to dump waste in Somalia would violate international treaties to which both countries are signatories.

Legal ramifications

Switzerland and Italy signed and ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which came into force in 1992.

EU member states, as well as 168 other countries have also signed the agreement.

The convention prohibits waste trade between countries that have signed the convention, as well as countries that have not signed the accord unless a bilateral agreement had been negotiated.

It is also prohibits the shipping of hazardous waste to a war zone.

Abdi Ismail Samatar, professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota, told Al Jazeera that because an international coalition of warships has been deployed to the Gulf of Aden, the alleged dumping of waste must have been observed.

Environmental damage

"If these acts are continuing, then surely they must have been seen by someone involved in maritime operations," he said.

"Is the cargo aimed at a certain destination more important than monitoring illegal activities in the region? Piracy is not the only problem for Somalia, and I think it's irresponsible on the part of the authorities to overlook this issue."

Mohammed Gure, chairman of the Somalia Concern Group, said that the social and environmental consequences will be felt for decades.

"The Somali coastline used to sustain hundreds of thousands of people, as a source of food and livelihoods. Now much of it is almost destroyed, primarily at the hands of these so-called ministers that have sold their nation to fill their own pockets."

Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping.

"The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said.

"What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs."

UNQUOTE

Miruku

[jackspratt]

Thanks Miruku.

Whilst it does nor excuse the piracy, it certainly puts a perspective on it.

In fact, I would say that if what has been reported is correct, it is a bigger problem than the piracy - both the environmental damage, and the apparent closing of eyes by immoral European governments.

[FrazeeDK]

Piracy is inexcusable and reprehensible. There is no rationalization for it whatsoever. Anyone exercising moral equivalence by minimalizing or finding excuses for piracy is a fool. it's anarchy at it's worst and through most of history treated with summary justice.. Our problem today is that we dither to much over legal niceties when the majority of those practicing piracy, be it off Somalia, in the Malacca straits or off West Africa are bloody handed piratical terrorists. The UN should bring back summary punishment and allow the military elements enforcing anti-piracy patrols to exercise it. What's being allowed to go on now is an example of the decadence in our western society that just doesn't want to hold anyone fully accountable for their actions.,

[Treeg]

Instead of running around all over the place like a bunch of headless chickens why dont they just use a convoy system like they did in WW2. Assemble the ships in one area and take them all through together, the armed ships then turn around and escort the ships that have assembled at the other side. Safety in numbers

Several of the ships taken were actually sailing in a convoy! It is incredible but true, apparently those fast rigged inflatables the pirates are using are very difficult to track by escorting navy vessels, and once they are on board the game seems to be over.

More over, this convoy system can only work in the Gulf of Aden, which is a relatively small area which is easily controllable. The Maersk Alabama, and several other vessels, was taken far to the south on the Indian Ocean coast not far from the border with Kenya, that's a very, very, big sea area and pirates are working from motherships hundreds of miles offshore, you simply can't escort ships all the way along that area (during WWII they could do it, but then all ships were actually sailing from one and the same port to one and the same destination, nowadays there are hundreds of destinations so everybody follows a different route..). Furthermore, ships are sailing at completely different speeds, those tankers and bulkers are easy targets due to their slow speed and low freeboard, most containerships can go a lot faster (only unfortunately not the Alabama) and with a lot more speed it gets a lot more difficult to climb on board, safety is in speed more then in numbers. If you get the speed up to 25-30 kts the pirates don't stand a chance of boarding, even the navy ships can't reach that speed for a longer period.

A couple of weeks ago a vessel with armed guards on board got attacked, when they saw the pirates boarding the armed guards jumped overboard and were later rescued by a navy vessel... that sure was great help!

I remember 'in the old days' we used to have armed guards on board at the West African coast, those where in fact local chieftains of an opposing clan, they used big machete knifes and bows with poisoned arrows, but they sure DID help, with those guys at the railing you didn't get attacked and if you were it's better not to know what happened to the pirates..

I guess arming the ships is the best option, and in fact off course this does happen only it is 'illegal' and thus is kept very quiet and nobody will mention it to the press.. Just like my colleague on the Maersk Alabama I'm not going to sit quietly and wait for the pirates to board, you make sure you prepare some surprises for them..

[Aardvark]

I'm all for Arming the Merchantmen if that's what it takes, but I must admit if your on a ship carrying fuel or explosives you don't want bullets and grenades flying around. I guess one good way would be to identify the Mother ship and blow it out of the water, anyway something has to be done

[BKKSTAN]

I believe that there has to be something more to this situation than what we are hearing,maybe politics!

If we were running troop ships or military hardware carrying ships through this area,I do believe we would be providing security enough to prevent piracy!

Convoying all ships,providing arms to ships that are not ''combustible'' and hunt and destroy the motherships with the ''scum''aboard,would be my way to go!

[westerby]

I'm all for Arming the Merchantmen if that's what it takes, but I must admit if your on a ship carrying fuel or explosives you don't want bullets and grenades flying around. I guess one good way would be to identify the Mother ship and blow it out of the water, anyway something has to be done

Well that's what they used to do in the old days. I'm reading up on the history of Jardine and Matheson during the first Opium War. These Scottish traders operated out of Canton and Macao, selling opium to the Chinese along their southern coast. They were often harassed by junks, etc. and subsequently armed themselves to keep these chaps at bay. When the first Opium War began, J&M leased their armed clippers out to the Royal Navy.

[westerby]

Source: BBC

Could 19th-Century plan stop piracy?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7991512.stm

[Ter]

An Aircraft carrier or two would work, it does have the capability to cover a vast area using recon flights and it has the firepower. Then I guess who would foot the bill for all this, I think the insurance company would run a mile.
Stuff em just blow em out the water when they leave harbour, if there's no fishing going on then who's got a boat ? Death to all pirates except one's with one leg an eyepatch and a parrot.

[jackspratt]

Death to all pirates except one's with one leg an eyepatch and a parrot.

Why should Westers get an exemption?

[polehawk]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090410/us_ ... lia_piracy

an excerpt from the article:

"Other pirates want to come and help their friends, but that would be like sentencing themselves to death," said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme that monitors the region's seas.

"They will release the captain, I think, maybe today or tomorrow, but in exchange for something. Maybe some payment or compensation, and definitely free passage back home."

Yeah, now that should put an end to all of the piracy.

It will take armed mercenaries on the ships and heavier naval presence by all affected nations as a minimum to eradicate this problem. Any "mother ship" seen towing speedboats should be engaged, boarded and dealt with in international courts. Or if they resist then just sink the bastards.

[westerby]

Captain 'tried to escape pirates'.

Source: BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7993765.stm

The US captain taken hostage by Somali pirates managed to jump off their lifeboat overnight but was recaptured, according to US media reports.

The escape attempt by Capt Richard Phillips was witnessed by a US navy ship nearby but happened too fast for it to come to his aid, NBC News says.