SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!
(March 1) -- A NATO task force intercepted and sank a pirate mother ship off the Horn of Africa in a pre-emptive bid to disrupt the raiders' attacks on merchant ships ahead of peak piracy season.
An assault team from the Danish destroyer HDMS Absalon, the NATO force flagship, boarded and then scuttled the large open boat after it left a well-known pirate camp in eastern Somalia, the alliance announced Monday. Without that ship, which served as a floating dock and supply depot to smaller and faster attack vessels, the pirates are expected to have a harder time waging successful assaults.
The scuttled boat, loaded with what NATO described as pirate equipment and supplies, was heading to offshore hunting areas on Sunday at the outset of what has in recent years been the most lucrative season for pirates operating in the region. With the northeasterly monsoons coming to an end, the wind and sea conditions for March, April and May are favorable for piracy in waters that carry a substantial amount of the world's seaborne trade among the Middle East, India, Eastern Asia, Europe and Africa.
"Disrupting the pirates' capability just off their main pirate camps sends a strong signal to the pirates that NATO and the international community do not tolerate their actions," said Danish Commodore Christian Rune, the mission commander. "Disposing of their vessels before they can head to sea hits the pirates before they can present a threat to merchant shipping."
The Absalon leads Operation Ocean Shield, a three-ship NATO flotilla off Somalia that includes the U.S. Navy's USS Boone and the British Royal Navy's HMS Chatham. American and European Union task forces are on patrol elsewhere in the region to thwart pirates and possibly terrorists who use sea lanes from Pakistan to the Gulf of Aden.
I will say that what truly irritates me about the whole situation is the massive amount of world press being given to a grand total of NINE yachties who have been taken with four killed, compared to the ear shattering silence the same press has been emitting with regard to the pirates current SEVEN HUNDRED merchant seamen being held hostage, or the over 1,100 who were imprisoned for at least some period during 2010.
The number of killed is unknown, since most merchant seamen are spirited inland to be held in the pirates tribal villages, but the Fillipino government (Over 400 of the current hostages are Filipino) believes that at least 100 of the Filipinos listed as "hostages" are probably dead after their employers simply declined to pay to ransom them. (In some cases, after paying to ransom their ships)
There, I hope that's clearer to anyone who hasn't thought enough about what is needed for good people to live. Treating known criminals like good people is why good people get treated like criminals. <-- Yes, you actually have to think for awhile to get there. Start with how prison furloughs make everyone have to lock their doors at night. Proceed from their. (If you aren't willing to think about it, move over and let the grown-ups keep you and your family alive, safe and free.)
Seems to me that much of this discussion revolves around whether or not somali pirates should be killed. In my mind, the punishment should fit the crime;
if a pirate is witnessed killing innocent people, by all means, blow up the boat they are on, arrest and prosecute the survivors accordingly.
Any pirate arrested during the commission of a crime should be detained and prosecuted according to the same standards of anyone else in the free world.
Seems pretty simple. More authorities in pirate-laden waters to police criminal activity.
I hate the bastards, but this isn't very practical. There is 2,000 miles of Somalian coastline and they wander hundreds of miles offshore. It would require all the authorities east of the Mississippi.
Surely if all the Somalian coastline can't be patrolled, the best approach is to protect individual ships? By that I mean put teams of marines or the coalition equivalent on random ships - once a few ships have fought back the pirates might start thinking about another profession.
That would not surprise me, insurance companies are as risk averse as they come (having to pay for the follies of the insured). My understanding is that a majority of pirate ransoms are paid by said insurance companies where it is cheaper to pay off the pirates short-term than to lose the ship, it's freight, and pay out the life insurance of the crew.
Still would appreciate anyone knowing one way or the other. Been caught out before with something that "sounded true", only for it to be urban legend
Tager, my sympathy is reserved for the people the pirates have killed and for the people currently held for ransom. Your sympathy for people who have no sympathy for you or anyone else is, I believe, misplaced and possibly dangerous in that it may actually encourage this type of behavior. I was in the Army for 20 years and accepted the fact that I might have to kill someone. I also accepted the fact that people would be very uncomfortable with that fact and that I and my fellow soldiers may be shunned for the fact that we had killed. Many people are very uncomfortable with the idea of killing another person and that is okay. Until the pirates are climbing aboard your boat or the home invaders are kicking in your door. Will your tune change then?
The Geneva Conventions and Protocols (four Conventions and three Protocols) address the treatment of civilians, medical and religious personnel and other non-combatants as well as the treatment of prisoners of war and the wounded. Protocol I addresses how guerrilla fighters must identify themselves and states that they must be under a central command to qualify for protection under the provisions of Protocol I. Nothing in the Conventions or Protocols would prevent a civilian ship from using force to protect itself and the Somali pirates would not fit the definition of guerrilla fighters under Protocol I. What little government Somalia has is responsible for controlling acts of piracy out to the international limits of 12 miles. Beyond that is international waters and thus the joint responsibility of all seafaring nations.
I may have said this before. I can fully understand why a criminal may choose the acts they do. I may have full knowledge of their justification/reasons/excuses for harming others. The key here is "harming others." The crucial factor is that they harm others *who are bringing no harm to them*.
I am a peaceful person by nature but, I have no problem using the full force of my intent, my training, and my experience to do grave violence against those intent on harming me, mine, or an innocent.
If that seems in conflict with my claim of being a peaceful person, perhaps a study of what a warrior can be, is in order.
It seems like the Somali situation, and I expect soon to include the entire coast in that region, is a perfect opportunity for armed decoys to create a bit of uncertainty for the pirates who so easily pray on unarmed vessels. Rotating a few ARMED!! ships and imposter yachts through the regions of risk that would invite attack with lethal consequences to all attackers, might reduce the threat? If a CIWS - pronounced "sea-whiz", popped up to deal with a pirate threat from time to time the word would get back to the rest of the opportunists.
I have no sympathy for these pirates, at all. But comparing going after them to nagasaki is apples and oranges. "Strategic bombing" against civilians is and was always wrong. I don't see how you can justify fire bombing cities in Japan and Germany, burning thousands of civilians, women and children and elderly and all, to death. Even if the other side did it first.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
SailNet Community
1.7M posts
173.8K members
Since 1990
A forum community dedicated to Sailing, boating, cruising, racing & chartering. Come join the discussion about sailing, destinations, maintenance, repairs, navigation, electronics, classifieds and more