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Piracy on the High Seas!


SteveAJones

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Crew of Alabama says sailors jumped pirates to retake control

(CNN) -- The battle for control of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama began with a bold move by some crew members to jump the pirates, crewmembers say.

The crew of the Maersk Alabama exchange some words with media after the ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya.

corner_wire_BL.gifA scuffle ensued and one of the sailors stabbed a pirate in the hand in the battle to retake the container ship, one of the sailors told CNN.Snippets of information are starting to emerge about how the Alabama's crew managed to retake the ship after it was hijacked by pirates Wednesday about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

The Alabama docked Saturday night in Mombasa, Kenya. Its captain, Richard Phillips, is being held by pirates in the ship's lifeboat.

Crew members smiled broadly as they stood on the ship's deck under the watchful eyes of security teams. Although they were kept away from the media, CNN's Stan Grant got close enough to ask them what happened after the pirates climbed aboard the ship.

A crew member said he recalled being woken around 7 a.m. as the hijacking began.

"I was scared," Grant quoted the man as saying.

Some of the crew managed to hide in a secure part of the Alabama as the pirates stormed the ship, the sailor said.

corner_wire_TL.gifAs the men described the clash, a crew member pointed to his shipmate and said, "This guy is a hero, he and the chief engineer they took down the pirate... he led him down there to the engine room and then they jumped him."The fellow shipmate then added that he stabbed the pirate in the man and tied him up.

Another crew member shouted, "Captain Phillips is a hero."

The father of first mate Shane Murphy on Saturday offered thanks for the "tremendous outpouring" of support his family has received from the public and government officials, including U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Capt. Joseph Murphy, an instructor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said he had spoken to his son but that he didn't have details on the standoff.

"He said, 'Dad, this has been unbelievable.' He said the facts will be known very soon. He said he couldn't speak about anything," Joseph Murphy said.

"I said this is going to be a tough sea story to overcome. He's got a great sea story here."

Joseph Murphy said Saturday that he and the Alabama crew's primary concern was for the ship's captain.

"He's made a tremendous sacrifice for his crew. Just incredible courage. We're very, very thankful. He's done everything he could possibly do and he has saved our son," he said at a news conference. "We believe that Captain Phillips will survive the situation. We want him to know he has the support of all of us -- the American people and people around the world."

At some point Wednesday, Phillips reportedly offered himself as a captive. Since then, the destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene to try to free Phillips with the help of the FBI.

An attempt to escape from the 28-foot, covered lifeboat was thwarted by a pirate who dove into the Indian Ocean after him. Phillips' captors appear to have tied him up afterward, Pentagon officials said.

The Alabama left on Thursday for Mombasa, its original destination, carrying food aid and an armed 18-person security detail.

Maersk president and CEO John Reinhart told reporters Saturday that the crew will stay on board in Mombasa while the FBI conducts an investigation.

The agency will look into the hijacking and hostage-taking, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which has responsibility for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region. Agents from the office were scheduled to leave for Africa sometime this weekend, the officials said.

"We will make sure they're safe," Reinhart said. "We know what food they want -- we'll get the food to them."

He said the crew has reported being in good health and that the entire crew has "showed the professionalism of a true mariner."He said the crew has asked the company to do everything it can to get Phillips home safely -- an effort he said Maersk is working with the Navy on.

"That means don't make a mistake, folks," Reinhart said. "We have to be perfect in our execution."

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Yes, a standing ovation is due for those two brave senators who have proposed to hold piracy hearings. :rolleyes: It's become obvious if your on the high seas, your on your own.

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Kerry: Lawmakers must take action on piracy

April 8, 2009 06:56 PM

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Senator John Kerry wants to hold hearings to address the growing problem of Somali pirates after a group of bandits attacked an American cargo ship off the horn of Africa yesterday and took the ship's captain -- a Bay State resident -- hostage.

A rigorous policy debate "is long overdue," said Kerry, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a statement issued yesterday. "When Americans, including at least one from Massachusetts, are endangered, you’ve got a complicated and dangerous international situation brewing, and that includes questions about a hot pursuit policy on Somalia’s coastline."

While there have been more than 50 pirate attacks in the area this year alone, no long-term strategy has been developed to stop them, Kerry said, "and the problem isn’t going away. I plan to hold hearings to further examine the growing threat of piracy and all the policy options that need to be on the table before the next fire drill becomes an international incident with big implications.”

The Maersk Alabama, a massive cargo ship flying an American flag, was seized yesterday when four armed Somali pirates boarded the ship near the Somalia coastline. The crew managed to repel the attackers, but not before they took the captain hostage.

Shane Murphy of Seekonk, the Alabama's chief officer and a Seekonk resident, was among the crew that helped repel the pirates. Murphy, a 2001 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, was second in command to Richard Phillips, 55, of Underhill, Vt., a 1979 academy graduate whom the pirates are holding hostage.

Over the past three years, Somali pirates have typically anchored hijacked vessels off the coast and negotiated ransoms between $1 million and $3 million. Last year, total ransom payments collected by Somali pirates are believed to have topped $50 million.

A US Navy destroyer is en route to the scene of the hijacking to assess the situation, officials said.

---------------

Translation: The Obama Administration is treating piracy as a legal issue as opposed to a

matter of national security requiring the long-overdue intervention of the U.S. Navy.

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While there have been more than 50 pirate attacks in the area this year alone, no long-term strategy has been developed to stop them.

Translation: The Obama Administration is treating piracy as a legal issue as opposed to a

matter of national security requiring the long-overdue intervention of the U.S. Navy.

Even if every ship were given an escort by a well armed naval boat, it might still be possible for it to boarded - given the speed at which these incidents occur. The weaponry needs to be on the transport ships themselves. I think something like depth charges, flung at the approaching attackers before they get close, would be suitable. A few decoy ships, loaded with heavy armed personnel instead of goods, would also make a statement. They are having some success using water cannons to repel boarders, but that doesn't set any lessons, to defer future attacks.

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Someone has to protect the high seas. Unfortunately, the media isn't talking about the dumping of nuclear waste in the seas. If it's happening over in Somalia, one wonders if it happening here in the US around our shores without our knowledge. I'm not sure if I want to eat anything from the sea again. As a people, we are just killing ourselves - no wonder cancer is on the rise.

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He said the crew has asked the company to do everything it can to get Phillips home safely -- an effort he said Maersk is working with the Navy on.

Apr 12, 2009 2:01 pm US/Eastern

Report: U.S. Captain Rescued From Somali Pirates

American Capt. Richard Phillips Held Hostage For 14 Days; Crew Of Cargo Ship Docks Safely In Kenya

wjz.com/national/richard.phillips.pirates

A US Navy destroyer is en route to the scene of the hijacking to assess the situation, officials said.

---------------

Translation: The Obama Administration is treating piracy as a legal issue as opposed to a matter of national security requiring the long-overdue intervention of the U.S. Navy.

It appears that the captain may have jumped from the lifeboat where he had been held hostage, paving the way for Navy SEALS to "assess the situation".

The captain is reportedly "uninjured and in good condition," and was said to have been "taken to the U.S.S. Bainbridge, a warship that was sent to the area to track the pirates."

About an hour ago, the U.S. Navy had reported that the pirates still held the captain, so the captain was freed only a few minutes ago.

navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=44210

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I'd bet my paycheck these guys had something to do with it, don't know if they will ever say though! B)

asealcreed.jpg

I was once fishing in Lake Pontchartrain and a group of these guys just popped up out of the water near the boat, only they were in scuba gear. Nearly gave me a heart attack! :o:blink:

They were performing training exercises.

aUSN_Seals.jpg

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navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=70448

090412-N-XXXXN-003 SOMALI BASIN (April 12, 2009) Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, stands alongside Lt. Cmdr. David Fowler, commanding officer of USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) after being rescued by U.S Naval Forces off the coast of Somalia. Philips was held hostage for four days by pirates. (Official U.S. Navy photo/Released)

navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=70447

090412-N-XXXXN-001 SOMALI BASIN (April 12, 2009) Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, stands alongside Cmdr. Frank Castellano, commanding officer of USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) after being rescued by U.S Naval Forces off the coast of Somalia. Philips was held hostage for four days by pirates. (Official U.S. Navy photo/RELEASED)

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Here's an interesting story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/...o_b_155147.html

Check it out.

Hi again 'PennyLane'

Upon longer reflection and studying your link again i have come to another conclusion, and this aint the end of it, its just the beginning.

I like many of you am glad to see that the Captain and Crew are safe and well, and just what a great job the US Navy Seals did, i take my hat off to their training and dedication, no one could have done it better.

The down side is this, there seemed to be little or no negotiation's with the Pirates, the Seals Killed three and captured one Pirate. Although a perfect ending for the Seals and the Crew the next time this happens the Pirates will have had a clear message that again US Forces cannot be trusted to negotiate fairly and most likely they, the Pirates, will be killed while trying to negotiate.

Upon reflection this may have opened a can of worms for anyone else that the Pirates get their hands on and we may well end up like we did in Iraq with hostages getting executed or not taken in the first place, just being killed. I'm not looking forward to the aftermouth of this one.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/12...erican-hostage/

Regards, Danny

PS. Edited to add this link.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy

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Here's a link to a WCBS-CH2 story from NY, that has animation in it that is much more reavealing than the widely distributed animation that shows "three shots going through the window of the boat"....

http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=126526@wcbs.dayport.com

For a discussion of piracy, look into this article and the responses to this article here:

http://www.alternet.org/audits/136288/we%2..._about_pirates/

My stand, is that we cannot allow the seas to be pirated, no matter who is doing the pirating.

These teen pirates hijacked a unarmed ship with humanitarian aid. They're lawless, and will be treated as such, no matter the conditions they try to justify themsleves with. Maybe we should declare war on Somalia, and carpet bomb the coast line. The freedom of the seas is w-a-y more important than the failed state of Somalia. Punks and thugs of all ages of all nations should be dealt with.

BTY, I also think that former Sec. of the US Treasury, "Hank" Paulson, acted as a pirate, transferring all that wealth to his banking investment "friends".

All Pirates should be dealt with :)

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In case you had any doubts....

http://freep.com/article/20090412/NEWS07/9...+rescue+hostage

Obama twice approved force to rescue hostage

By JENNIFER LOVEN and PHILIP ELLIOTT • Associated Press Writers • April 12, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama twice authorized the military to rescue a U.S. captain held by Somali pirates and whose life appeared to be at risk, administration official said hours after today’s rescue.

The Defense Department twice asked Obama for permission to use military force to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips from a lifeboat off the Somali coast, most recently late Friday evening. On Saturday morning, Obama signed off on the Pentagon’s request, as he had a day earlier, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

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