Destroyer monitoring hijacked ship off Somalia

[unhappycamper]

Somali pirates in small boats are seen alongside the hijacked "Faina" on September 28.


Destroyer monitoring hijacked ship off Somalia
By Mohamed Olad Hassan - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Sep 29, 2008 7:51:03 EDT

MOGADISHU, Somalia — As a heavily armed U.S. destroyer patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead Sunday, a Somali pirate spokesman told The Associated Press his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.

The spokesman also warned that the pirates would fight to the death if any country tried military action to regain the ship, and a man who said he was the ship’s captain reported that one crew member had died.

Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial amount of ammunition and spare parts. The ordnance was ordered by the Kenyan government.

The guided missile destroyer Howard was stationed off the Somali coast on Sunday, making sure that the pirates did not remove the tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the ship, which was anchored off the coast.

A spokesman for the U.S. 5th fleet said the Navy remained “deeply concerned” over the fate of the ship’s 21-member crew and cargo.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_destroyer_pirates_092808/%2e

[halobeam]

1. k and r

[Abaddon865]

2. What are we waiting for

Something that I don't quite understand, we'll rush headlong into a half ass planned wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but when there is a chance to actually save the lives of innocent civilians, we just sit there and watch. Do they not realize where those 33 T-72 tanks and all that ammo are going? The Bakaara Market in Mogadishu is one of the largest black markets in Africa; and while is it a bit of a stretch to say that the tanks will fall into the hands of al-Qaeda, it is not such a large stretch to see them falling into the hands of any number of Genocidal dictators throughout the continent. A T-72 won't stand up to an A1 Abrams, and AH-64 Apache, or even and A-10 Warthog; but against lightly armed infantry or umarmed civilians it is a rather imposing piece of machinery, capable of taking Genocide to levels that would make even the Nazi's blink. Just sink it in port and the Ukraine and Kenya to put it on our tab, or take it off of theirs.