Way back around 1800, the new United States got a bit tangled up with the pirates on the north African coast. This whole episode has been cited by neocons as a justification for the war on terror - though really it gets back more to 'let's make some money with all nations' kind of philosophy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War

The Pasha of Tripoli tried to hold Thomas Jefferson to a $225,000 ransom to get safe passage in the area. You'd think the Saudi owners of this craft today would have a little pull with the back channel wheeler-dealers needed to cut an arrangement.

They were able to blockade much of the Barbary Coast for a time. (IIRC Barbary is the root of 'barbarian' and so might be a perjorative?)

The first US Marines managed to recapture and destroy the USS Philadelphia, as well as the city of Tripoli. Which is why it's in their song.

Until 1798 the Knights of Malta gave those corsairs a good thrashin... It sounds like an interesting geographical/historical period that I've never really studied.

--
Hongpong.com

The solution is easy and quite cheap. Just have each ship hide a couple of dozen heavily armed Marines aboard and as the Pirate ship, boat actually, approaches blow them out of the water. Having 10 rotating crews of 25 Marines 250 in total would stop the Pirates after they keep having their boats sunk and members killed. After a while they wouldn't know which ships had Marines or not.

...and one with [perhaps] some substance:

1. I think you mean longer than the Chrysler Building is tall. Image formed in my mind otherwise is alarming. :O

2. I don't think you mean 60 knots. I'd venture to say that there's no merchant ship that does 60 knots. [Okay, except for some of the go boats, but that's a pretty atypical class of "merchandise", if you take my meaning.] Principle holds true, however.

3. SNMG2 [Standing NATO Maritime Group 2] is operating off Somalia right now and my understanding is that the EU is in the process of setting something up.

“The absence of any US-Iran bilateral channel...may have the perverse effect of reinforcing Iranian interest in progressing in the nuclear realm so that the US will be forced to take it seriously and engage it directly." ~ Richard Haass

The Sirius Star is three times the size of an aircraft carrier.

Clearly harder to defend, in spite of that fact...

Go Pirates!

But that's chump change. Now if you want to hear about some real piracy:

Naomi Klein: Bailout is 'multi-trillion-dollar crime scene'
David Edwards and Muriel Kane

or escort large ships. I watched a program on the Discovery Channel about the world's largest ship that carries livestock.

Ships don't get any bigger than MV Becrux (with the possible exception of some of the mammoth-sized container ships.)

Scroll down to the Australian ship: MV Becrux

Becrux plies through pirate-infested waters and the only thing it carries is powerful fire hoses. There's more than one way to keep pirates from boarding ships. I'm surprised that all vessels don't carry them. Police use them for controlling crowds--they're equally effective thwarting pirates.

Crews just need to be instructed to keep vigilant watches, how and when to use fire hoses.

BBC

LIVE Piracy Map
click on balloons to see reports, or use sidebar for reports

and air cover will deter or destroy them. Eliminate their port facilities via airstrike.

just plain stinks right now.

This morning a U.K. teenager set out to break the record for youngest solo circumnavigation of the globe. At least he'll know what parts of Africa to avoid.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/nov/16/sailing-michael-perham

Makes me wonder if this isn't related to Al-Qaeda.

Could be more effective with less backlash than killing people would.

I did inhale.

Somali pirates demand ransom for Sirius Star

Times Online Nov 19

The Somali pirates who hijacked the Saudi oil super-tanker Sirius Star have demanded a ransom, a man presented on al-Jazeera television as one of the authors of the attack said on Wednesday.

"Negotiators are located on board the ship and on land. Once they have agreed on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker," said the man identified as Farah Abd Jameh, who did not indicate the amount to be paid.

"We assure the safety of the ship that carries the ransom. We will mechanically count the money and we have machines that can detect fake money," the man said on an audio tape produced by the Dubai-based television network.

The message came as two more ships were seized by Somali pirates in the past 24 hours: a Greek bulk carrier and a Thai fishing boat, despite a large international naval presence in the waters off their lawless country. An Iranian cargo ship was also hijacked earlier in the week.

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Blackwater gunboats will protect ships

By Kim Sengupta
Wednesday, 19 November 2008

The American security company Blackwater is planning to cash in on the rising threat of piracy on the high seas by launching a flotilla of gunboats for hire by the shipping companies.

The firm, which gained international notoriety when its staff killed civilians in Iraq, has already equipped one vessel, called The McArthur, which will carry up to 40 armed guards and have a landing pad for an attack helicopter.

The McArthur, a former survey ship, arrives in the Gulf of Aden, the scene of the recent high-profile hijackings and shootouts with Somali pirates, at the end of the year. It is to be joined by three or four similar vessels over next year to form the company's private navy.

Blackwater, which has strong ties with the Republican administration in Washington, was the subject of investigations by the US Congress and the Iraqi government after its guards shot dead 17 people in Baghdad's Nisoor Square last year, a massacre which led directly to changes in law regarding security contractors in Iraq.

Several security companies are rushing to the region despite the presence of British, American, Russian and Indian naval warships, among others, sent to protect ships. For fees ranging from £8,000 to £12,000 for transits of three and five days, companies are offering teams of unarmed guards, "non-lethal deck security personnel".

With more than 60 ships attacked in the Gulf and ship-owners paying an estimated £75m in ransom for the return of crew and cargo, the security companies foresee a lucrative business.

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Why is this news? What confirmation by independent channels? Who benefits? Thus far, beneficiaries are ... long oil, oil producers, shippers and shipping insurance, mercenary services advertising.

The original article had an error of factor of 8-10 say, 60 knots vs reality. How do we know other allegations are not off by 8-10 times?

Sorry, this story emerged too rapidly to be genuine as presented. Maybe I'm wrong - often the case - but I will prefer to wait for "service pack 1" re-release before installing the "VLCC piracy justifies whatever" meme.

Somali tanker pirates 'want $25m'

The Sirius Star has 25 crew - who are said to be unharmed
Pirates who hijacked a Saudi oil tanker off the Somali coast are reported to have demanded a $25m (£17m) ransom.

The AFP news agency, quoting one of the pirates, says the owners have been set a 10-day deadline to hand over the sum.

The Sirius Star is the biggest tanker ever hijacked, carrying a cargo of two million barrels of Saudi oil - worth more than $100m.

"We do not want long-term discussions to resolve the matter," the agency quoted Mohamed Said as saying.

"The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," he added, without elaborating.

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they don't appear to kill.

Weaponry on tankers on any other massive-sized ship is definitely NOT the logical choice.

How will sending in more naval resources help identify the pirates because they blend in with the population? They don't have any developed ports and just play things by ear.

Interesting five-part article that I read about modern piracy:

From the link:

“Stopping them BEFORE they board is the key” (Powerful fire hoses do work! So does vigilance on the part of the crew for approaching boats from astern, abeam or ahead.)

Historically, piracy was suppressed by attacking the land bases of pirates. Once the leaders of pirate communities realised that acts of piracy would be met with cannons, they quickly diverted their energies into other moneymaking channels."

------

Does make sense the suggestion that shipping companies track where their ships currently are on the oceans, using satellite technology. If I were an owner of a large shipping company, I would not be employing tactics that escalate violence, endangers the crew or the cargo its carrying. Large ships lack speed and maneuverability capability especially in tight quarters when navigating narrow passages.

These particular pirates concentrated their attacks in identifiable regions--they appear to lack land bases, but they have to be putting all these ships and hostages in a relatively small region? Authorities need to concentrate on where those regions are. Doesn't mean military force would get the hostages or the ships released, but it does narrow down spots where the ships and hostages are being held for possible attack AFTER the ships and hostages are safe.

In my mind, there is parallel between hired mercenaries like Blackwater and pirates! Radar isn't terribly effective in detecting small boats. Sailing boats often have to carry radar reflectors in the rigging in order for larger ships to see them on their screens--doubt the pirates would be that co-operative! :-) Crew eyes and binoculars, when on the water, are more effective at seeing small speed boats approaching! Night-time vigilance remains particularly problematic for large ships.

well that will teach them....

UN imposes fresh sanctions on Somalia after piracy talks
15-nation Security Council agrees to freeze pirates' assets

* Xan Rice in Nairobi, Matthew Weaver and agencies
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday November 20 2008 15.44 GMT
* Article history

The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed fresh sanctions on Somalia today amid calls for armed peacekeepers to be sent to the Horn of Africa.

The diplomatic initiative came as Arab countries held a crisis meeting on how to tackle piracy, as the gang who hijacked a Saudi supertanker demanded a $25m ransom to be paid within 10 days.

The 15-nation Security Council in New York adopted a British plan for enhanced sanctions aimed at freezing the assets of those involved in piracy and undermining Somalia's weakened national government. There has been a UN arms embargo against Somalia since 1992.

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21 Nov 2008 10:04:12 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes, details)

MOGADISHU, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Heavily armed Islamists went to Haradheere port on Friday in search of the pirate group behind the seizure of a Saudi Arabian supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said.

"The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship," the elder, who asked not to be named, told Reuters by telephone from Haradheere.

The Sirius Star -- with its $100 million oil cargo and 25-man crew from the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Poland and Britain -- is believed anchored offshore near Haradheere, which is about half-way up Somalia's long coastline.

"The Islamists arrived searching for the pirates and the whereabouts of the Saudi ship," the elder said. "I saw four cars full of Islamists driving in the town from corner-to-corner."

Islamist leaders, fighting a two-year insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian military allies, deny allegations they collude with pirates and insist they will stamp down on them if they win power.

Some analysts, however, say Islamist militants are benefiting from the spoils of piracy and arms shipments facilitated by the sea gangs. Analysts also accuse government figures of collaboration with pirates.

Asad 'Booyah' Abdulahi, 42, describes himself as a pirate boss, capturing ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Here he tells his story

I am 42 years old and have nine children. I am a boss with boats operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

I finished high school and wanted to go to university but there was no money. So I became a fisherman in Eyl in Puntland like my father, even though I still dreamed of working for a company. That never happened as the Somali government was destroyed [in 1991] and the country became unstable.

At sea foreign fishing vessels often confronted us. Some had no licence, others had permission from the Puntland authorities but did not want us there to compete. They would destroy our boats and force us to flee for our lives.

I started to hijack these fishing boats in 1998. I did not have any special training but was not afraid. For our first captured ship we got $300,000. With the money we bought AK-47s and small speedboats. I don't know exactly how many ships I have captured since then but I think it is about 60. Sometimes when we are going to hijack a ship we face rough winds, and some of us get sick and some die.

We give priority to ships from Europe because we get bigger ransoms. To get their attention we shoot near the ship. If it does not stop we use a rope ladder to get on board. We count the crew and find out their nationalities. After checking the cargo we ask the captain to phone the owner and say that have seized the ship and will keep it until the ransom is paid.

We make friends with the hostages, telling them that we only want money, not to kill them. Sometimes we even eat rice, fish, pasta with them. When the money is delivered to our ship we count the dollars and let the hostages go.

Then our friends come to welcome us back in Eyl and we go to Garowe in Land Cruisers. We split the money. For example, if we get $1.8m, we would send $380,000 to the investment man who gives us cash to fund the missions, and then divide the rest between us.

Our community thinks we are pirates getting illegal money. But we consider ourselves heroes running away from poverty. We don't see the hijacking as a criminal act but as a road tax because we have no central government to control our sea. With foreign warships now on patrol we have difficulties.

But we are getting new boats and weapons. We will not stop until we have a central government that can control our sea.
Source

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

Great Game of Hunting Pirates

(snip)

One, the international community should appreciate that the piracy in Somalia has its origin among disgruntled fishermen who had to compete with illegal poaching by foreign commercial vessels in its tuna-rich coastal waters.

The disgruntled local fishermen, who lost out, soon organized to attack foreign fishing vessels and demand compensation. Their campaign succeeded and prompted many young men to "hang up their fishing nets in favor of AK-47s".

Stuhldreher suggested, "Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods." Therefore, she wrote, "A fishery protection force will eliminate the pirates’ source of legitimacy." This could be done under the auspices of the UN or African Union or a "coalition of the willing".

(snip)

Ideally, the international community should also commence a reconciliation process involving the residual elements of the ICU.

(snip)

The Indian Ocean is becoming a new theater in the Great Game. It seems a matter of time before China appears.

(snip)

Admiral Mehta has a worthy example in front of him, provided he can coax his reluctant country to flex its muscles in Africa for the first time in its ancient history. His best argument would be that unless he took an early lead, Ching-Ho might reappear in the Indian Ocean. But then there is an inherent risk insofar as the pirates who disappeared into the mist on Tuesday evening might also return looking for the INS Tabar.

By Robert Wright in London and Agencies

Published: November 24 2008 01:54 | Last updated: November 24 2008 01:54

Pirates holding the Sirius Star, the vast crude oil tanker seized a week ago, have moved the vessel because of the risk of Islamist attacks from groups opposed to piracy, according to news agency reports.

Bloomberg reported that the vessel had already been moved from Haradhere, north of Mogadishu, while Agence France Presse reported they were preparing to move it. It is unclear where the vessel is heading.

Bloomberg reported there had also been threats from the Islamic Courts’ Union, which briefly ruled nearly all of Somalia in 2006.

There were no pirate attacks when the ICU controlled Haradhere, Eyl and other coastal towns used as bases for pirates, who have staged 95 attacks and seized 39 vessels this year.

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