Crew fights off pirates with water jets

[unhappycamper]

Crew fights off pirates with water jets
By Nicholas Paphitis - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jan 2, 2009 12:30:24 EST

ATHENS, Greece — Crewmen fired high-pressure water jets Friday to fight off heavily armed Somali pirates trying to board a Greek oil tanker in the dangerous Gulf of Aden, officials said. It was the fourth pirate attack of the new year.

Armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, pirates in three speedboats twice tried to board the Greek-flagged Kriti Episkopi but were driven away when the crew turned fire hoses on them and EU aircraft scrambled from a nearby European Union naval flotilla to help, shipping company and Greek government officials said.

The attack came a day after Somali pirates seized an Egyptian cargo ship and its 28 crew in the waterway, one of the world’s most important sea routes. Also Thursday, a Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being hijacked and a French warship thwarted an attack on a Panamanian cargo ship and captured several pirates.

The captain of the Kriti Episkopi spotted the pirates’ speedboats just before 8 a.m. GMT. While he took evasive action to try to shake them off, Greek authorities alerted the EU naval flotilla.

“An aircraft and a helicopter reached the ship very quickly, which scared the pirates off,” a Greek Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. “A frigate also sped to the scene. Everything now seems to be under control, but we remain vigilant.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_piracy_010209/%2e

[NOW tense]

1. You Are Being Lied to About Pirates

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=413790&mesg_id=413790

[PearliePoo2]

2. more from the article:

The crew of the “PM L’Her” dispatch boat seized weapons and munitions and plan to hand the
pirates over to Somali authorities.

Pirates attacked 111 ships around the Gulf of Aden in 2008, hijacking 42 of them and earning tens of millions in ransom. With the capture of the Egyptian tanker, 15 ships with more than 260 crew are still in the hands of pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
(end of snip)

The French warship will turn the pirates over to the Somali authorities???? What the hell good will that do?? There is no FUNCTIONING government there.
These bastards are holding 15 ships captive right now.
The pirate boats and their crews need to be sent to the bottom and a watery grave.
Fire hoses may have worked this time but the pirates will eventually figure out a way around it.
These ships need to use something a lot more lethal than water.

[NOW tense]

3. Why are they attacking?

What is it that has bothered the people of Somalia so much that they have taken to the sea to exact revenge for something. What is that underlying reason?

[PearliePoo2]

4. I don't believe revenge is the motivating factor...

Money is.
They hold the ships, crew and cargo for ransom...and they get it.

This from a Reuters article today:
Piracy off Somalia, one of the world's busiest shipping areas, has soared over the past year, earning the pirates millions of dollars of ransom payments and pushing up maritime insurance rates.

[NOW tense]

5. You are correct here is why

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVV_gQDsp1m8v7nPcumVc5McYV-Q

[gristy]

6. "scared the pirates off"???

Pirates made two attacks on the Kriti Episkopi but after having fire hoses turned on them and the arrival of EU aircraft, they "scared the pirates off"?. Why didn't the EU aircraft destroy the pirates and their boats at that point?