Pirates 'seize UK yacht couple'

[BentSailor]

Chandlers Freed - BBC Article.

Good to hear

[HDChopper]

Dear God I am glad to hear the Chandlers are free ! .

Stupid me I thought it was there boat didn't think the Pirates took crew ! all along have been thinking thay have only taken all items onboard thay could and left the sailors adrift , but taken crew for ransom thats TOO Much !

OK time to think of innocent looking Greek Fire nozzle ...

It's time for some Gov. or U.N. to do something about this !

[Yofy]

Its amazingly great news, even as it comes on the heels of news of another kidnapping. But hearing that Paul and Rachel Chandler are free after more than one year in captivity, definetly made my day.

[eherlihy]

Great news... but the following really burns me;

Earlier this year their captors threatened to kill the couple if their demands for $7m (£4.4m) were not met.

A payment of about $430,000 (£267,000) was made to the pirates in June, but did not result in the release of the Chandlers.

Media speculation was thought to have influenced the pirates, and so the family opted for a super-injunction banning media coverage of the kidnap.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the ransom paid for their eventual release had been "the best part of $1 million".

The Russian Navy has the right idea of how to deal with these thugs.

[ffiill]

Perhaps shouldnt put the cat amongst the pigeons BUT what I was suprised to note was the route that the Chandlers had been and were taking.
They had come from the Med.thru the Suez Canal and into the Gulf and were heading for east Africa when siezed.
I am really suprised that they had previosly managed to evade capture from Somali Pirates;Yemeni Pirates;Iranian Militia etc before entering the Indian Ocean.
Personally would coast west Africa down to Cape of Good Hope anytime rather than the Gulf and East Africa.

[ffiill]

We now have a serious problem-any Yacht is now worth a minimum of £1 million to pirates!
Perhaps its time for some Q yachts.
During WW1 the British to combat u boat attacks sent out what appeared to be normal unarmed merchant vessels known as Q ships except they were not what they seemed.They were manned by Royal Naval personell and were armoured and armed to the teeth with guns hidden behind knock down panels;heavy caliber machine guns etc and personnel trained in using them.
Google Image Result for http://themaritimeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hyberbasdfg.jpg
So imagine what appears to be a vunerable sailing yacht which is fitted with a powerful engine;armoured and carrying some nasty weaponry and shadowed by attack helicopters-mmm!

[HDChopper]

Sounds good ffiill ! Indian Ocean in general being off limits is too much !
That would leave many into harms way ..

[MC1]

Did any of you see the "My Trip to Al-Qaeda" special on HBO recently? It was interesting how one of Bin Laden's brother-in-laws (IIRC) somehow became a victim of a dreadful random crime in his sleep. It'd sure be a cryin' shame if that began to happen to the organizers profiteering off these "adventures". Just a guess - you'll notice this beginning to happen soon.

[steel]

Originally Posted by HDChopper

It's time for some Gov. or U.N. to do something about this !

Please don't try to get the U.N. involved

It wouldn't surprise me if the UN is actually funding the pirates.

The UN wants a reason to take over all the oceans and have a one world UN Navy or such.

People on Yachts just need to be armed like the pirates.

The U.N.'s Maritime Safety Committee says members should "strongly discourage the carrying and use of firearms by seafarers for personal protection or for the protection of a ship." The concern is that bringing guns aboard ship will encourage violence.
See they're not trying to stop the problem at all. The UN is really anti gun and anti self defense.

[BentSailor]

It wouldn't surprise me if the UN is actually funding the pirates.

Yes. This has the sound of rationality to it...

Disagree with the UN, sure. Think the organisation shouldn't have been created (with willing assistance of the US), no problem. Think they are "funding" Somali pirates... that's a step into crazy town. Funding rebels is more a CIA thing (something that has facts to back it up too)