Dutch navy captures pirates after failed attack

[steven johnson]

Source: CNN

Dutch naval forces captured seven pirates and freed 20 captive fishermen after tracking the pirates to their "mother ship" in the western Gulf of Aden on Saturday, a NATO maritime spokesman said.


The Dutch naval frigate De Zeven Provincien tracked the pirates back to their mother ship.

Meanwhile, pirates seized control of a Belgian-registered ship, the Pompei, a the spokesman said. Reports said the vessel and its 10-man crew, including two Belgians, was being taken to the coast.


Saturday's rescue operation happened after pirates launched an unsuccessful attack on petroleum tanker MT Handytankers Magic, NATO Cmdr. Chris Davies told CNN.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/18/pirates.foiled/index.html

[theoldman]

1. They set them free so they could attack another ship.

I hope it is one of theirs. The least they could have done was to turn them in to another country.

[blueknight]

2. if they catch them in the act

bury them at sea, and be done with them

[kestrel91316]

13. I vote for keelhauling.

[MADem]

3. I think Kenya would be willing to help if there were a lot of dough thrown their way.

They're helping the Brits (special relationship and all that) but their jails are overcrowded. A little international funding and this issue could be nipped in the bud.

[Johnyawl]

5. What ARE you talking about?

Dutch forces captured seven armed pirates aboard the ship. They also found and freed 20 local fishermen who had been kidnapped by the pirates.

The article doesn't say anything about them freeing the pirates.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. nevermind

nevermind

[No Elephants]

8. The Dutch crew did what Dutch law forced/required them to do. The pirates

are free and that may indeed allow them to attack another ship, but that is not why the Dutch ship released them. And if Dutch law did not allow an arrest, then the crew could not take jurisdiction over them to turn them over to another country.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Somali-Pirates-Crisis-Dutch-Commandos-Catch-Seven-Pirates-But-Are-Forced-To-Release-Them-Says-Nato/Article/200904315264346?f=rss


Either you are for the rule of law or you aren't, but the claim that the Dutch released the pirates for the purpose of allowing them to attack others is harsh and unfair. And, even though they were not allowed to capture the pirates or their ship, they risked their lives to free the hostages. That is praiseworthy.

[Lasher]

12. Boy, if I'm a bank robber I want the Dutch police to arrest me.

Looks like NATO needs a detainment policy ASAP.

[ohio2007]

14. A real insult to justice would be if they let them keep the AK47 rifles and RPG

oh,

but the "fisherman" may need the weapons....to protect THEMSELVES from pirates
:sarcasm:

[Lasher]

20. More than that, what about the mother ship and the smaller vessils that the pirates used?

Wouldn't it be infuriating if they had been allowed to keep the boats they used to commit the crime? Well guess what, that's just what happened. The most likely scenario is that the pirates kept not only these vessils, but all their weapons as well. I'll be they got a hot meal too before they were sent on their way to, uh, fish or something.

[DBoon]

24. Boy, if I am an innocent citizen I want to live in the Netherlands

None of those pesky midnight raids by the secret police to have me "disappeared" because a neighbor had a grudge

Rule of law has its problems, but it is better than rule by force

I will pick the risks of criminals roaming free over the certainty of oppression by criminals in charge of the police

[christx30]

23. They could have at least

destroyed their ship. Released them to the ocean.
They would not be held any more.
Give each of them small plank of wood and tell them to paddle back to shore.

[Andy823]

4. I think

It was just the captives they freed, I didn't see anything about them letting the pirates go in the article.

[inwiththenew]

6. I hope that is a misprint

but it looks like they did set them free based on the article I read as well.

"Dutch forces also briefly detained seven pirates and seized seven Kalashnikov rifles and one rocket-propelled grenade launcher."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090418/ap_on_re_af/af_piracy

[No Elephants]

9. Please see Post #8.

[msongs]

10. they are kidnappers and extortionists - "pirates" is a PR term favoring the actions nt

[ohio2007]

15. they are freedom fighters and protectors of the sea

thats what a few posters have suggested.:nopity:

[Swede Atlanta]

11. Good for the Dutch.....

I'm glad they freed the fishermen. It is unfortunate that the law isn't keeping up with the times but that is often the case. I'm not a proponent of nations of attempting to extend jurisdiction arbitrarily because that will lead to chaos on the seas. It does seem, however, that in this instance the UN should work to establish an extra-territorial framework that would allow nations operating under a UN mandate to retain these criminals.

At a minimum, however, I would have expected that the Dutch could have held the "pirates" on behalf of another EU nation, Greece. The pirates would then have been extradited to Greece for prosecution.

[Historic NY]

16. What the hell law are they operating under? They should have sunk the mother ship period.

Make the crew abandon it, putting them adrift.

[ohio2007]

26. Had it in their sights but, it could have led to a backlash back home ?

Certain people in the world already have a problem with the Dutch as it is. Don't want to upset them I suppose.
:sarcasm:
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=172712&bolum=104

[Doubting Thomas]

17. WTF?

It's obvious that some people did not read the news release.

"After the Dutch disarmed the pirates, they released them, Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman from the maritime headquarters, told CNN"

[excess_3]

18. needed: mercenaries

what we need here is for President Obama to authorize
mercenaries-privateers to shakedown (or otherwise dispose of)
these bad guys

[mitchtv]

19. I was watching Discovery the other nite

"Deasdliest catch' About the Alaskan crab fishers.. They are ready for make a visit, they say they are wll armed. Privateers in waiting

[Thothmes]

21. Our Congress still has the Constitutional power

to issue letters of Marque and Reprisal. Maybe they should exercise this Congressional authority.

[ohio2007]

22. how it was done during Roosevelts time

MARINES UNLEASHED IN TANGIERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNQGFWLAcwE

lol
just get in and get it done

[ohio2007]

28. A congressman from Texas suggested doing that. Anybody think using bounty hunter's is a bad idea ?

.....
...a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe.

Used heavily during the Revolution and the War of 1812, letters of marque serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money.

The letters also require would-be thrill seekers to post a bond promising to abide by international rules of war.

....
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21245.html

problem is some will dismiss it and lock step along 'party lines' I fear






Congressmans Pirate Solution: Bounty Hunters...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ccb_1240156031

Congress will say one thing and do nothing.

[christx30]

29. Mercenaries?

Like, say, Blackwater?

[excess_3]

31. maybe, do they feel like killing these pirates? n/t

[christx30]

32. Personally,

I like the idea of these guys going after the pirates. I just thought the idea of Blackwater would go over like a lead balloon here on DU.

[ohio2007]

25. NATO(Dutch) frees pirate hostages, Belgian ship seized....(thanks neighbor for going Dutch)

NATO frees pirate hostages, Belgian ship seized

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Dutch commandos freed 20 Yemeni hostages on Saturday and briefly detained seven pirates who had forced the Yemenis to sail a "mother ship" attacking vessels in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said.

In a separate incident, gunmen from Somalia seized a Belgian-registered ship and its 10 crew, including seven Europeans, further south in the Indian Ocean.

"The Pompei is heading slowly toward the Somali coast," Peter Mertens, a spokesman for a Belgian government crisis center, said. "We have had visual contact from a helicopter of a Spanish navy ship."

Somali sea gangs have captured dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors prisoner and made off with tens of millions of dollars in ransoms despite an unprecedented deployment by foreign navies in waters off the Horn of Africa.

The attacks have disrupted U.N. aid supplies, driven up insurance costs and forced some shipping companies to route cargo round South Africa, rather than risk approaching Somalia.

snip

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090418/wl_nm/us_somalia_piracy_13


Somali sea gangs

gang banga no longer pirates

[pipoman]

27. It would seem seizure

and or sinking of their mother ships would curtail or at least disrupt their kidnapping activities. I am admittedly ignorant of the area or the breadth of the issue, but it seems to me that ships would be the only finite resource available to these gangs, hungry people willing to participate and weapons are infinite.

[BrightKnight]

30. Catch and release will not solve the problem. - n/t