Flashermac Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali pirates hijacked a U.S.-flagged, Danish-owned container ship on Wednesday with 20 American crew on board in a major escalation in attacks at sea off the Horn of Africa nation, officials said. Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, told Reuters the 17,000 ton Maersk Alabama had been seized off Mogadishu far out in the Indian Ocean, but all its crew were believed to be unharmed. Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk confirmed that the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama had been attacked by pirates about 500 km (300 miles) off Somalia and had probably been hijacked. The company said it had 20 American crewmen on board. A spokesman for the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) in Nairobi told Reuters that among the vessel's cargo were 232 containers of WFP relief food destined for Somalia and Uganda. In the latest wave of pirate attacks, gunmen from Somalia seized a British-owned ship on Monday after hijacking another three vessels over the weekend. ... Have fun, Obama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Damn your title almost scared me.... I suppose you know what a flag ship is in a military navy...thought a USN capital ship had been boarded and taken over by.....Somali pirates (which would be the biggest news I ever heard this year) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 That's a flagship - one word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 oups yep sorry, typo.... Still you scared me to death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Just read a report (uncomfirmed) that the U.S. crew recaptured the ship and that it has one pirate in custody...the other pirates were said to be "in the water". HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 If this is later confirmed -> congratulations to the crew. Hope the pirates enjoy the sharks company http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7990566.stm ------------------------------------------ Hijacked US crew 'retake vessel' Undated handout pic of Maersk Alabama The pirates used small boats to attack the vessel for several hours The US crew of a ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia has retaken control of the vessel, according to Pentagon sources. Unnamed US defence officials said one pirate had been captured by the 20-strong crew of the Maersk Alabama, seized earlier in the Indian Ocean. But the vessel's Danish owners, Maersk, said they could not confirm that the vessel had been retaken. It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days. It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates. The Associated Press quoted a defence official as saying: "The crew is back in control of the ship. "It's reported that one pirate is on board under crew control - the other three were trying to flee." Reports suggest the other three pirates jumped overboard. Crew 'is safe' Maersk's chief executive, John Reinhart, said he could not confirm that the ship had been retaken but said contact had been made with the crew. "We have a crisis centre and we have vessel managers and superintendents that are working with the vessel at all times," he told a news conference. BBC map "We had a cell-phone call from a member of the crew that said the crew is safe." The ship was attacked by several small boats in the early hours of Wednesday in an incident apparently lasting for about five hours. Maritime officials said the vessel took all possible evasive action before it reported that the pirates had boarded. More than 130 pirate attacks were reported in 2008, including almost 50 successful hijacks. Pirates typically hold the ships and crews until large ransoms are paid by the shipping companies - last year the firms handed over about £80m (£54m). The huge increase in frequency of attacks has forced several navies to deploy warships in the Gulf of Aden to protect one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_on_re_af/piracy US crewman: Somali pirates hold captain hostage AP * Buzz Up * Send o Email o IM * Share o Delicious o Digg o Facebook o Fark o Newsvine o Reddit o StumbleUpon o Technorati o Yahoo! Bookmarks * Print Somali pirates seize ship, 20 Americans on board Play Video AP â?? Somali pirates seize ship, 20 Americans on board * Somali Pirates Slideshow:Somali Pirates * Americans Hijacked by Pirates Play Video Video:Americans Hijacked by Pirates ABC News * High Seas Hijacking Play Video Video:High Seas Hijacking FOX News This undated image shows the 17,000-ton container ship Maersk Alabama, when it AP â?? This undated image shows the 17,000-ton container ship Maersk Alabama, when it was operating under the â?¦ By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld, Associated Press Writer â?? 3 mins ago NAIROBI, Kenya â?? The American crew of a hijacked U.S.-flagged ship retook control of the vessel from Somali pirates Wednesday but the captain was still being held hostage, according to Pentagon officials and a member of the crew. The crew member told The Associated Press that the 20-member crew had managed to seize one pirate and then successfully negotiate their own release. The man, who picked up the ship's satellite phone but did not identify himself, told the AP in a brief conversation that the crew had retaken control of the ship and the pirates were in a lifeboat. But the man also said that they were holding the ship's captain hostage. The news came hours after Pentagon officials said the crew had retaken the vessel from the Somali pirates who seized it far off the Horn of Africa. President Barack Obama was following the situation closely, foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said. The ship was carrying emergency food relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, the Copenhagen-based container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said. It was the sixth vessel seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden. A U.S. official had said around noon Eastern time the crew had retaken control and had one pirate in custody. "The crew is back in control of the ship," a U.S. official said at midday, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the record. "It's reported that one pirate is on board under crew control â?? the other three were trying to flee," the official said. Another U.S. official, citing a readout from an interagency conference call, said: "Multiple reliable sources are now reporting that the Maersk Alabama is now under control of the U.S. crew. The crew reportedly has one pirate in custody. The status of others is unclear, they are believed to be in the water." Maersk Line Limited CEO John F. Reinhart said the vessel's manifest showed it was carrying 401 containers of food aid bound for Africa from USAID, Serving God Ministries, the World Food Program and Catholic Relief. He said the company received a call around 10:30 a.m. EDT from the crew that indicated the crewmen were safe. But the call got cut off, and the company could not ask any more questions. "The crew member called to say, 'We are safe.' They did not say they had taken over the vessel. They did not say the pirates are off the vessel," Reinhart said. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory." She did not give an exact timeframe. Andrea Phillips, the wife of Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont., said her husband has sailed in those waters "for quite some time" and a hijacking was perhaps "inevitable." Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said his sons, second in command Capt. Shane Murphy, 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. Somali pirates are trained fighters who frequently dress in military fatigues and use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades. Far out to sea, their speedboats operate from larger mother ships. The U.S. Navy said that the ship was hijacked early Wednesday about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia. 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 Combined Maritime Forces issued an advisory Wednesday highlighting several recent attacks that occurred hundreds of miles off the Somali coast and stating that merchant mariners should be increasingly vigilant when operating in those waters. Douglas J. Mavrinac, the head of maritime research at investment firm Jefferies & Co., noted that it is very unusual for an international ship to be U.S.-flagged and carry a U.S. crew. Although about 95 percent of international ships carry foreign flags because of the lower cost and other factors, he said, ships that are operated by or for the U.S. government â?? such a food aid ships like Maersk Alabama â?? have to carry U.S. flags, and therefore, employ a crew of U.S. citizens. 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; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen; Samantha Bomkamp in New York; and Tom Maliti and Anita Powell in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Seems there was a good reason that the report I read was "unconfirmed". HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCorinthian Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Well, now who wants to bet that they get "visited" by a few ReCon, SeAL, and SAS boys in the near future...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Going thru those waters, we were ALWAYS on full alert, all hatches battened, roving ARMED patrols! WTF, were the farkin mates sleeping at the wheel?? they do have radar on the "box boats" and they should have gone thru the following protocol: 1. spot approaching vessel(s) on radar. 2. sound the horn as they approach to warn them off. 3. fire warning shots over the approaching vessel's bow. 4. fire to sink the vessel if it is within 100m of the ship. 5. repel invaders...a fire hose will knock you off the deck, if nothing else to use! ...and why was a US Diplomat riding a box boat? sounds quite strange.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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