NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 28, 2008

Somali Pirates Blitz LiberianTanker

27 Crew Members Taken Hostage In Lightning Fast Attack; Three Security Guards Jump Ship, Rescued

    • Photo

       (CBS)

    • In this photo released by Indian Navy PRO, anti-piracy operations by Indian Navy's warship INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden, Nov. 18, 2008. Photo

      In this photo released by Indian Navy PRO, anti-piracy operations by Indian Navy's warship INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden, Nov. 18, 2008.  (AP/Indian Navy, HO)

    • A prison warden watches Somali pirates disembark from a prison vehicle, at the law courts in Mombasa Kenya on Nov. 24, 2008, where they were brought for the Chief Magistrate to decide whether to give them bail, which they were refused. Photo

      A prison warden watches Somali pirates disembark from a prison vehicle, at the law courts in Mombasa Kenya on Nov. 24, 2008, where they were brought for the Chief Magistrate to decide whether to give them bail, which they were refused.  (AP PHOTO)

    • In a rare victory in the sea war against the Somali pirates, the Indian navy's INS Tabar sank a suspected pirate Photo

      In a rare victory in the sea war against the Somali pirates, the Indian navy's INS Tabar sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats  (AP PHOTO)

    • Local residents observe as the Norwegian-flagged tanker Photo

      Local residents observe as the Norwegian-flagged tanker "Torm Kristina" passes through the Suez canal in Ismailia, Egypt, Nov. 20, 2008. Major shipping companies said that they are considering other options including avoiding the passage through the Suez Canal to avoid having to go through the Gulf of Aden due to increasing piracy risks - meaning longer, costlier trips around the southern tip of Africa.  (AP PHOTO)

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  • Play CBS Video Video Terror On The High Seas

    Somali pirates are now in control of 16 ships and hundreds of crew members and demanding $17 million for the release of the recently hijacked "Sirius Star." Shelia MacVicar reports.

  • Video Somali Pirates Strike Again

    Pirates hijacked another cargo ship the coast of Somalia making it the 7th ship to be hijacked in less than two weeks. Shelia MacVicar reports.

  • Video Pirate Hijacks On The Rise

    Pirates off the Somali coast continue to hijack ships and hold them for ransom. Mark Phillips reports. Also Current TV's Kaj Larsen, discusses his experience covering these elusive characters.

  • Fast Facts Somalia

    Learn about the people, economy and history.

(CBS/AP)  Somali pirates seized control of a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and a NATO helicopter gunship, too late to prevent the hijacking, picked up three security guards who jumped into the sea.

Both France and Germany, which have ships in the area as part of an international anti-piracy coalition, sent the aircraft after receiving a distress call just after dawn, French military spokesman Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck said. But in the 15 minutes it took to get to the site, the pirates had already boarded and had taken the crew of 25 Indians and two Bangladeshis hostage.

The two British guards who leapt overboard with their Irish colleague were safe onboard a French warship, he said.

Germany and France have ships in the area as part of a NATO fleet which, along with warships from Denmark, India, Malaysia, Russia and the U.S., have started patrolling the vast maritime corridor.

They escort some merchant ships and respond to distress calls in the fight against increasingly brazen pirate attacks off Somalia's coast, a major international shipping lane through which about 20 tankers sail daily. Friday's was the 97th ship hijacking this year.

One of the hijacked ships, the Malta-flagged cargo ship Centauri, was released Thursday with all 25 Filipino crew unharmed after more than two months in the hands of pirates, Greece announced.

The ship hijacked Friday, the Liberian-flagged MV Biscaglia, is operated out of Singapore, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The pirates are growing bolder. Hugh Martin, manager of Hart Security, said 20 speedboats filled with pirates launched a simultaneous attack on two slow-moving companion vessels off the south coast of Yemen on Thursday. Hart staff onboard both ships were armed, but managed to use evasive maneuvers and non-lethal methods to prevent the pirates from boarding during the four hour attack.

Quote

You don't have to blow them out of the water, just confiscate the weapons and the ship.

Cyrus Mody, head of the International Maritime Bureau
On Friday, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said it was possible the U.N. might pass a new resolution with more aggressive rules of engagement.

"Even harsher sanctions, harsher measures, harsher calls to the international community may be passed," he told Russian TV channel Vesti-24. "It would give the possibility for more energetic actions by the naval forces of those countries, including Russia, that have dispatched their ships (to Somalia) for the fight against piracy."

Continued



© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Add a Comment See all 65 Comments
by whitewolf60 November 28, 2008 9:30 AM EST
It''s the year 2008.... aren''t they a little OLD to be running around playing "pirate"????
Reply to this comment
by shanev137 November 28, 2008 9:41 AM EST
Why don''t any of these ships have weapons or armed security personnel on board? Do they just like being hijacked? I''d love to pick-off some of these skinnys in their little boats. Hire me, I''ll keep your boat safe.
Reply to this comment
by hunterdon6 November 28, 2008 10:48 AM EST
The shipping companies know by now that this is a bad area to travel. All they have to do is hire some snippers and the pirates wouldn''t get close to their ships.
Reply to this comment
by trishab56 November 28, 2008 10:55 AM EST
Are the United Nations to be blamed for not doing what they ought do: spread some world whealth to the African Continent. Make some states of the Union starve and see what will happen. If it''s not rioting and destruction, it will be piracy and theft. Survival is a more powerful than the respect of International laws designed to protect the filthy riches.
Reply to this comment
by earache4 November 28, 2008 11:29 AM EST
When will someone invent a fence or barrier that surrounds the rim of the deck of the boat (or just above the waterline) that makes boarding from a speedboat impossible?
Reply to this comment
by November 28, 2008 11:45 AM EST
Now the terrorists have WMDs available? Even if the pirates could be counted on not to sell their booty to the islamic thugs, those same islamic thugs have vowed to take the booty into custody in their war on the pirates. Either way, the world loses. Delay in the war against this thievery is at our own peril!
Reply to this comment
by jockh November 28, 2008 12:19 PM EST
we spent hundreds of billions invading other countries under false weapons of mass destruction claims. why dont we spent a little to clear the pirates?
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 12:26 PM EST
I guess two British security guards isn''t enough.. Now if they would of had 2 US MARINES or 24 US Army Dogs maybe they wouldn''t be having this problem..
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 12:30 PM EST
today''s news: Muslim pirates in Somalia, Muslim terrorists attack in India, Muslim suicide bomber in Iraq. What is the common denominator?
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 12:43 PM EST
we spent hundreds of billions invading other countries under false weapons of mass destruction claims. why dont we spent a little to clear the pirates?

Posted by jockh

Because the US isn''t the worlds police force and I think America is coming to grips on this! Why don''t the countries of origin take care of their own boats.. ?

As for the WMD.. Let me ask you this.. If I tell the world that I have WMD and say that I will use them would you just walk away and let me alone? If I kill 100,000''s of my own people will you turn a blind eye to my actions? If you have a chance to set up democracy in an area that is known to cause the world a lot of trouble, that is governed by dictators would you rather walk away or set up a democracy in hopes that the area of trouble would change for the better and possibly allow world peace or at least peace in that area of the world..
Reply to this comment
by runningralph November 28, 2008 12:47 PM EST
Islam authorizes crime whether it''s piracy, taking hostages in India, murdering people in buses, whatever. Islam is a way for criminals to gain legitimacy. Obama can stand with them if he wants to, but the rest of the world should see it for what it is. A way to legitimize crime.
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 12:53 PM EST
IF you voted for Bush or McPalin you should be ashamed

Posted by pythoncharly

ewe are just mad because your not old enough to VOTE..

Time will tell if America made the right choice or not.. I just hope that if it wasn''t the right choice that Obama doesn''t mess things up REAL BAD..
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 12:53 PM EST
IF you voted for Bush or McPalin you should be ashamed

Posted by pythoncharly

ewe are just mad because your not old enough to VOTE..

Time will tell if America made the right choice or not.. I just hope that if it wasn''t the right choice that Obama doesn''t mess things up REAL BAD..
Reply to this comment
by txlakeside November 28, 2008 1:28 PM EST
usaadvisor ... you really are an idiot. Islam is a religion just as Christianity. Timothy McVeigh was a Christian. Does that make all Christians Terrorist? David Koresh was a Christian. Does that make all Christians terrorst? Christianity has some really ugly belivers just as any religion has fanatics. I know people that practice the Islamic or Muslim faith and they are by far superior Americans compared to you!

Idiots like you are whats wrong with this country. You listen to FOX and think just because you hear or read it it must me true. You are a perfect example of why OBAMA won. Americans are tired of ignorance, stupidity and hate!

Reply to this comment
by TommyCraig November 28, 2008 1:40 PM EST
"And the powerful US Navy can not do a thing against
these "REAL" terrorists because the idiot conservatives
have the navy busy watching the "NON terrorists" in
IRAQ.
IF you voted for Bush or McPalin you should be ashamed"
Posted by pythoncharly at 09:33 AM : Nov 28, 2008
When has it been the US responsibility to control the pirates? If they did enterdiction, you would be complaining that the US is not the worlds police.
Reply to this comment
by drinuk November 28, 2008 1:42 PM EST
Drop the BIG ONE on Somalia, teach the rest of ''em a lesson, Globally Warm ''Em Up !
Reply to this comment
by jsd330 November 28, 2008 1:53 PM EST
Liberian registered ship, then let the Liberians deal with it , or the owners of the ship. It''s not the job of the U.S. Navy to babysit non american assets.
Reply to this comment
by downtowner97 November 28, 2008 2:41 PM EST
When a guy in a power boat 3x faster than your ship has an antitank missile pointed at your fuel bunker, and you''re not allowed to have a gun, you stop and surrender.
Reply to this comment
by jowand November 28, 2008 2:54 PM EST
The US Navy took on the responsibility of hunting pirates and controling safe sea fareing hundreds of
years ago, this is just one more area that the criminal bush administration has proved to be incompetant in,

Posted by pythoncharly at 10:57 AM : Nov 28, 2008

You''re just a hate spewing deranged Progressive whacko.
Reply to this comment
by jowand November 28, 2008 2:56 PM EST
The Europeeing countries should be taking care of this problem. After all it is in their former colonial frontyard and mostly their oil going through these waters. Not enough to be our problem in the USA.
Reply to this comment
by jowand November 28, 2008 3:01 PM EST
NOT ALL COSERVATIVES ARE NECESSARILY IGNORANT, BUT

MOST IGNORANT PEOPLE ARE CONSERVATIVE.

Posted by pythoncharly at 10:33 AM : Nov 28, 2008

You sure are ignorant looking at all of your posts.
Reply to this comment
by mikezembill November 28, 2008 3:16 PM EST
What is the range of a antitank missile anyone know.
Reply to this comment
by michael0004 November 28, 2008 3:20 PM EST
I''m not sure I would necessarily blame the Bush Administration (even though he is the CINC), but it is certainly fair to ask (what the MSM seems to choose not to ask): Where is the world''s most powerful Navy during all this?
Reply to this comment
by toolmangler-2009 November 28, 2008 3:40 PM EST
I have one huge question, what is the chemical it is filled with???????
Reply to this comment
by toolmangler-2009 November 28, 2008 3:52 PM EST
The US and some others have small Aegis Weapons Systems that can be installed on the larger ships to ward off Pirates. These are compact units that can be set in place at the shipyard and strapped to the deck in a few hours. They are ready to go once fastened down.
Reply to this comment
by mikezembill November 28, 2008 4:02 PM EST
The wo British guards were unloading there Johnson the brits are trying to build here sperm banks up.
Reply to this comment
by thisisfunny November 28, 2008 5:00 PM EST
The two or three British security guards(goons) are such cowards that they jumped into the water to escape the pirates. That is being reported on another outlet. So all of you "tough" guys take a lesson don''t be a hero because five minutes later no one cares about you...Me included.
Reply to this comment
by mrmeatspin November 28, 2008 5:04 PM EST
The opposite of ''''progress'''' is republiCON

Posted by pythoncharly at 12:51 PM : Nov 28, 2008
+ report abuse

*********

and liberals think they can save africa with Live8
Reply to this comment
by mrmeatspin November 28, 2008 5:06 PM EST
The Karl Rove RepubliCON''''s are back,

watch for the LIE''''s to starts flying now!

Posted by pythoncharly at 12:37 PM : Nov 28, 2008
+ report abuse

*********

no more karl rove anymore buddy..its all ophra winfrey now, john colbert and david letterman..WE ARE GOING TO SAVE THESE POOR SOULS WITH SATIRE..
Reply to this comment
by mrmeatspin November 28, 2008 5:09 PM EST
we are now going to witness how the liberals would fix this...

LIVE9...

Reply to this comment
by shanev137 November 28, 2008 5:32 PM EST
When a guy in a power boat 3x faster than your ship has an antitank missile pointed at your fuel bunker, and you''''re not allowed to have a gun, you stop and surrender.

Posted by downtowner97 at 11:41 AM : Nov 28, 2008

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


What?
Why?
And who said they can''t have weapons on board for protection?

Let me guess, you think Obama took their guns away.
Reply to this comment
by whitemale08 November 28, 2008 5:52 PM EST
All you have to do is trace the funding back to the British oligarchs.

They want world-trade to shut-down to create scarcity in everything and in that way they can take us back to the good ''ol fuedalism days of the Medievel Period where the last world-wide financial crisis of the Lombard Banking cartel collapsed.

Trace the money and be honest about who the enemy is and you will be able to defeat them.
Reply to this comment
by gce65 November 28, 2008 5:53 PM EST
Not much real information in this story. POOR REPORTING.

Where was it coming from and going to?

WHAT CARGO WAS ONBOARD?
SALT (NaCl)?
POTASH?
CHLORINE GAS?

Don''t run the story if you''re not going to provide even basic de3tails.

Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 5:56 PM EST
whitemale08: If they trace back the hatred, they''ll find you and some Muslims.
Reply to this comment
by waqahi November 28, 2008 6:00 PM EST
Read the posting below mine. I tell myself; there is so much venom, I am not even going to bother reading any. Screw you Religious fanatics hate mongers. Pupils of Pat Robertson and his like.
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 6:05 PM EST
Waqahi: Please list all the suicide bombers that Pat R. has sent out to kill innocent people. Maybe you thought he was Muslim.
Reply to this comment
by legacyabq November 28, 2008 6:13 PM EST
wow a bona-fide "british-royal-family" conspiracy theorist on here..

Hows that fight against the NWO going?
Reply to this comment
by deckardbr November 28, 2008 6:19 PM EST
What?
Why?
And who said they can''''t have weapons on board for protection?
Posted by shanev137 at 02:32 PM : Nov 28, 2008

The ACLU.
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 6:26 PM EST
Remember when the first G. Bush sent food to help the starving civilians in Somalia. Hardline Muslims seized the food for themselves.
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 7:33 PM EST
The ACLU. ? Isn''t that a college football team.. in CA..
Reply to this comment
by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 8:38 PM EST
bush, cheney, mcpalin, belong in prison for war crimes,

and when they tortured innocent people they committed

crimes against America and the constitution,

these type of conservative evangelical republicons

are

UN American

Posted by pythoncharly

Your comments show us that your crack is the highest grade possible..
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 8:52 PM EST
Iwashungary: That is a tough assignment to list all the Muslim leaders who have sent out terrorists. Ayotollah K., the present President of Iran, Arafat,the Presdent of Syria, al Sadr, .... What the heck I will be here all day and still leave a bunch out.
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 8:55 PM EST
pythoncharly: Many of the ''innocents'' held at Gitmo were released and later killed on the battlefield. Maybe taking baths regularly drove them crazy..
Reply to this comment
by walt1944-2009 November 28, 2008 10:06 PM EST
Somali have once again hijacked another ship on the high seas.

Knowing that the Great Emperor Bush II will not send his navy after them, unless they were stupid enough to hijack a corporate yacht belonging to Corporate America or sink Rupert Murdoch''s "pleasure yacht", the Somali pirates are continuing their attacks on shipping in the Indian Ocean and getting rich from the proceeds.

Besides, the Great Emperor Bush II sees the Somali pirates as down to earth "businessmen" who are taking the concept of "FREE TRADE" to the NEXT LEVEL!!!

SIG HEIL, I ALWAYS LIKED PLAYING PIRATES WHEN I WASN''T SENDING FROGS TO THE MOON!!!, BUSH!!!
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim November 28, 2008 10:15 PM EST
walt: I was so worried that it was you involved with the theft of your hero''s golden book mark. Is it true you injured your arm doing a seig heil in a portalet? Happy Thanksgiving!
Reply to this comment
by centerfall94 November 28, 2008 10:42 PM EST
Nerve gas the ship. Two or three of those incidents and there won''t be any more pirate attacks.
Reply to this comment
by whitemale08 November 28, 2008 10:43 PM EST
whitemale08: If they trace back the hatred, they''''''''ll find you and some Muslims.

Posted by downsteamjim at 02:56 PM : Nov 28, 200--

Hey, Why don''t you tell your Lord and Saviour so-called Prince Charlie to practice his call for ''population reduction'' by himself in the privacy of his public-housing complex.

And then you and him can leave the rest of us human beings alone and in peace without your stupid ''globalization'' nonsense.
Reply to this comment
by jowand November 28, 2008 10:48 PM EST
Name ALL of the muslims / Islamic leaders that have sent suicide bombers out in the name of Islam.

Or do you believe that THEY ALL are evil?

Posted by IwasHungry68 at 04:55 PM : Nov 28, 2008

It would be a much, much shorter list to name the ones who haven''t.
Reply to this comment
by jowand November 28, 2008 10:52 PM EST
The real solution to this piracy thing is to have 20 or 30 pigs roaming around on the decks of each ship.
Reply to this comment
by runningralph November 29, 2008 1:29 AM EST
Iwashungry68 wants a list of Muslim leaders that sent out suicide bombers in the name of Islam. I''ll play. Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khomeini, Saddam Hussein, Al zarkawi, Al queda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Moamar Khadafi, Yassir Arafat, on and on. I could come up with more with some research, but honestly there have been so many they all run together. I''ve been watching them since Sirhan Sirhan killed Bobby Kennedy.
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