Inernational Forces Continue Kid Gloves Treatment For Pirates

Discussion in 'Politics' started by AAAintheBeltway, Dec 18, 2008.

  1. So basically, they let the pirates escape even though they had choppers that could have blasted their ship to the bottom of the sea and killed all the bastards. And they wonder why they can't deter these attacks?


    Anti-piracy force thwarts attack on ship

    Thursday, December 18, 2008

    SAN'A, Yemen

    An international anti-piracy force thwarted the attempted takeover of a Chinese cargo ship off the Somali coast Wednesday, sending in attack helicopters that fired on the bandits and forced them to abandon the ship they had boarded.

    The incident occurred a day after China said it was considering sending warships to the region to join the fight against pirates.

    In another blow to the region's burgeoning piracy, the Indian navy handed over 23 pirates it caught at sea to authorities in Yemen.

    Nine armed pirates in speedboats overtook the Chinese ship and boarded the vessel, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    He said the 30-member crew sent a distress message to the bureau as it saw the pirates approaching, then barricaded themselves inside their living quarters. Mr. Choong said the bureau quickly alerted the international naval force, which dispatched two helicopters and a warship.

    "Two helicopters arrived at the scene first and helped deter the hijacking. They fired at the pirates, forcing them to flee the ship," he said. There were no reported injuries during the five-hour confrontation.

    "The Chinese ship is very fortunate to have escaped. This is a rare case where pirates have successfully boarded the ship but failed to hijack it," he added.

    Somali pirates, spurred by widespread poverty in their homeland, have hijacked more than 40 vessels off their country's coastline this year. Many of the seizures have occurred in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Somalia and Yemen and is one of the world's busiest waterways. Many of the vessels are taken to pirate-controlled regions in Somalia, where they are held for ransom.

    China's official Xinhua news agency identified the ship involved in the latest attempt as the Zhenhua 4, and said it belonged to China Communications Construction Co. and was registered in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.

    The boarding was the latest in a series of attacks by Somali pirates on Chinese vessels. On Tuesday, Beijing said it was considering sending warships to the area to help battle piracy.

    The announcement came during a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of Somalia.

    Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told the council that China was considering sending warships to the Gulf of Aden to join ships from the U.S., Russia, Denmark, Italy and other countries.

    In Yemen, meanwhile, the Indian navy handed over 23 pirates arrested in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday after they threatened a merchant vessel in the lawless waters off the Yemeni coast, a Yemeni security official said.

    The Indian sailors boarded two pirate boats and seized what was described as a substantial arms cache and equipment. The security official said the pirates included 12 Somalis and 11 Yemenis. He stressed that Yemen has the right to try Somali pirates because their arrest occurred in Yemeni territory.

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  2. TGregg

    TGregg

    Please use the nonjudgemental "Disadvantaged Mariners" instead of the harsh "pirates".

    Thank you.