Under Fire, U.S. Liner Outruns Pirates

Meanwhile, Security Firm Blackwater Meets With Shipping Companies To Discuss Protection Of Vessels

(CBS/AP)  Pirates near Somalia chased and shot at a U.S. cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said Tuesday.

The liner, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, a maritime corridor patrolled by an international naval coalition, when it encountered six pirates in two speedboats.

The ship's captain brought the Nautica up to flank speed (above its full cruising speed of 18.5 knots) and began evasive maneuvers.

One boat managed to close within 300 yards and pirates fired upon the passenger liner with rifles, but the liner was able to outrun the smaller boats.

Most of the ships hijacked by pirates have been relatively slow freighters or tankers. This attack was on a high-speed cruise ship, and that's what may have saved her, says CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

Had the pirates been able to capture a ship full of people - and not just people, but wealthy Westerners, a lot of them presumably American - the piracy story in the Gulf of Aden may have been taken to an ominous new level.

"It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape," said Noel Choong who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia. He urged all ships to remain vigilant in the area.

The Nautica is owned by Oceania Cruises Inc.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was aware of the failed hijacking but did not have further details.

The Nautica was on a 32-day cruise from Rome to Singapore, with stops at ports in Italy, Egypt, Oman, Dubai, India, Malaysia and Thailand, the Web site said. Based on that schedule, the liner was headed from Egypt to Oman when it was attacked.

International warships patrol the area and have created a security corridor in the pirate-infested waters under a U.S.-led initiative, but the attacks have not abated.

In about 100 attacks on ships off the Somali coast this year, 40 vessels have been hijacked, Choong said. Fourteen remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 250 crew members.

In two of the most daring attacks, pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter loaded with 33 battle tanks in September, and on Nov. 15, a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych said Monday that negotiations with Somali pirates holding the cargo ship MV Faina are nearly completed, the Interfax news agency reported.

A spokesman for the Faina's owner said Sunday that the Somali pirates had agreed on a ransom for the ship and it could be released within days.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and pirates have taken advantage of the country's lawlessness to launch attacks on foreign shipping from the Somali coast. Around 100 ships have been attacked so far this year.

Somali prime minister Nur Hassan Hussein said Tuesday that his country has been torn apart by 18 years of civil war and cannot stop piracy alone.

"The piracy problem is part of the legacy of the situation of the country. This 18 years of civil war is followed by disorder," Hussein told The Associated Press in an interview in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Stopping piracy is "not something Somalia can do alone. This needs a tremendous effort," he said.

Hussein has appealed for international troops, as his government's Ethiopian allies have said they would pull out their forces by the end of the year.

The Ethiopians are all that has stood between the shaky administration and Islamic insurgents who have seized control of all of southern Somalia except for the capital and the parliamentary seat of Baidoa.


Mercenaries Discuss Protection For Shipping Companies

Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide is meeting with shipping and insurance companies this week to describe what the company can do to protect vessels traveling through the volatile Gulf of Aden.

Blackwater is holding meetings in London from Tuesday to Thursday. Company spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the meeting is being held because at least 70 companies have contacted Blackwater about protection services. However, the Moyock-based firm doesn't have any contracts yet.

Blackwater, whose security forces have been employed by the U.S. government in Iraq and elsewhere, has been at the forefront of the debate over the use of contractors in war zones.

Capitol Hill lawmakers have described Blackwater guards as mercenaries. Human rights groups have sued the company. And Iraq's government is pushing for more authority to prosecute U.S. contractors in its own courts.

Last month it was revealed that federal prosecutors had drafted an indictment against six Blackwater security guards in last year's deadly Baghdad shootings of 17 Iraqi civilians, although it was undecided whether the Justice Department would charge the guards with manslaughter or assault. The company is also being investigated for allegedly making illegal weapons shipments to Iraq.

The 20,000 ships that pass through the Gulf of Aden each year travel to and from the Suez Canal. The vessels can't avoid the 1,800 miles of Somali coastline unless they make the costly journey around the entire continent of Africa.

Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Blackwater, is a Holland, Mich., native whose family fortune was made in the auto parts industry. His sister, Betsy DeVos, a former chairwoman of the Michigan GOP, is married to Dick DeVos, a Republican and Amway Corp. heir who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2006.

Blackwater began offering anti-piracy services in October, joining a number of other security firms in talks for business there. The company is offering to use a 183-foot escort ship and armed crew.

[antoniof123]

Why not send decoys that way the pirates never know if it is a decoy or not.

[excoachken]

No surprise here, every National League team outruns the Pirates.

[wtcmedic911]

Wish we (civilized world) would drop the hammer on these human waste. Enough is enough

[jdoss7-2009]

Why not take an international "coast guard" and bomb the pirate ships. We arrest car jackers all over the world. They don''t have much room to run out in the ocean and they can''t move very fast.

[wolf563]

Posted by antoniof123 : Why not send decoys that way the pirates never know if it is a decoy or not. I agree !!! This is a good idea and has to be tried!!! Also the country needs the help of the WORLDS TOP MILITARY to remove all the ISLAMISTS from this country and return it to order . 18 YEARS is far to long for the U.N. to turn a blind eye to a country that needs military intervention . It just shows how useless the U.N. has become .

[easeup-2009]

ARRRRGH!! Ya won this battle, ya scallywags, but the next time you be finding Davey Jones'' locker!!!

ARRRRGH!!

[alphaa10000]

The Gulf of Aden is filled with seasoned entrepreneurs known as pirates. They have interception techniques down pat, and know how to handle most situations, even with hostile naval forces nearby.

The problem with most naval interception is time and distance, and the multi-nation coalition formed to stop piracy is not capable of patrol response times that would reach every area within the minutes required to stop an attempted seizure.

The MS Nautica''s narrow escape shows how few options are available to most vessels attacked by pirates. A speedboat is usually fast enough to catch any but the most powerful ships, and automatic weapons can clear the helm of most small vessels, so resistance is futile.

Regarding a poster''s suggestion about use of decoy ships, that was certainly an effective means to fight sea raiders in WW1 and WW2, but the Gulf-- known also as "pirate alley"-- would need many such ships, and even then, the pirates might learn soon enough which were the real targets.

[alphaa10000]

Rowdydfw said, "... the little Islamofast bastward saints are just busy as little bees aren''t they. Maybe Obslime-a will give them a tongue lashing. "
---

A tongue lashing has not been suggested by Obama.

What Obama did say is also what Bush eventually admitted publicly about North Korea-- negotiations and diplomacy must rule.

[nikosk11]

Nuke the ba$tards, then others will learn.

[oldguy4truth]

I would love to see someone step up and blast the s--- out of a crew of them. I think that would be the end of this nonsense. Why they are getting free reign of the area is beyond me.

[oldguy4truth]

Why they are getting free reign of the area is beyond me.
Posted by oldguy4truth


Because there are 20,000+ in traffic a year thru there...you can''''t police it


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Posted by jh6379again

I would send nato to conduct wargames in the area. I am sure the Navies of the free world could find just one bunch of heavilly armed thugs prowell the seas. How do you suppose they target their victoms....... I think we should be able to make just ONE example fairly easy. Like I said, I believe if you annihlate one boat load of cowards attacking defenceless vessles, I think that will do the job. The other rats will run back in their holes like they did when NATO troups finally went to Somalia.

[earache4]

U.S. liner to pirates:

"Eat my wake!"

[lochlan-2009]

"Meanwhile, Security Firm Blackwater Meets With Shipping Companies To Discuss Protection Of Vessels"

Finally, we hear the reason they''ve been letting these pirates get away with all this garbage. They needed to make a reason for the Prince to get continued contracts, target, the shipping industry. I was wondering why we weren''t stopping these attacks.

[buttonjockey]

I''ve said it before. There''s an easy solution. Don''t go after the pirates, let them come to you! It''s a horrible waste of money to bring in world class navies to patrol vast waters, looking for a needle in a haystack, always being in the wrong place.

Instead, put about a dozen well armed paramilitary people on each ship. Their instructions are to shoot to kill if the ship is legitimately threatened. I would call guys in speedboats shooting at you a legitimate threat.

That ended train robbery in the U.S. and that will stop pirates on the high seas.

[newsjunky5]

They shot at a US cruise liner. That alone should invoke a military response. It''s only a matter of (short) time before they either hone their skills or get lucky and kill a ship full of civilians, if Bush drags his feet. The shipping and cruise liner companies will be pressured to hire private security (Blackwater) if the Navy is held back. Is Bush willing to trade innocent lives for a juicy contract for his friends?

[piercetheval]

...Maybe it''s time to bring back the ''PT Boats''...possibly deployed from a ''Mother Ship'' or two, or three, in the Gulf.

[newsjunky5]

"Instead, put about a dozen well armed paramilitary people on each ship. Their instructions are to shoot to kill if the ship is legitimately threatened. I would call guys in speedboats shooting at you a legitimate threat."
------------------------
That sounds like the solution to me.
Cheaper, always in the right place, more effective. Is there a small, cheap, missle battery they can put on freighters? You would need to out-gun the pirates, too.
But they should be part of our military, not private. They should have seamless back-up from any military planes/ships in the area.

[shimano35]

Put an aircraft carrier out there----launch planes--sink pirate ships---end of story!!

[oldguy4truth]

Won''''t work...many of the pirates are using boats that blend in.

They would really blend in at 20 fathoms.

[oldguy4truth]

That ended train robbery in the U.S. and that will stop pirates on the high seas.


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Posted by buttonjockey a

I also recall that we ended piracy in the 18th century in American waters by killing pirates.

[runningralph]

Somalia will not stop piracy. It is their bread and butter. And Islam authorizes crimes against infidels. Piracy has been going on in the Straits of Malacca for decades. Another Islamic controlled shipping lane. As jihadists infiltrate more areas such as India and the Phillipines, piracy will become more widespread. Technology can be used to thwart piracy but the jihadists have access to technology, too. Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Malacca are authorized by Islam same as terrorist attacks around the world.

[leeanna58]

Maybe it''s time to just nuke the entire Somalian country. That should get rid of the pirates, their relatives, the next generation of pirates, their hunger problems, their drug problems, and their aids problems. We would be doing them a favor.

[andor3]

lochlan: " we hear the reason they have been letting these pirates get away with all this garbage. They needed to make a reason for the Prince [Blackwater] to get continued contracts..."

Funny how predictable and gullible people are, calling for some para-military solution just as Blackwater would like. Seems highly questionable that a cruise ship can successfully use "evasive maneuvers" against two speedboats--sounds like the whole thing was staged. Maybe the boats were not pirates (who saw them?). Maybe the ship captain played along (were there even really boats after them?).

[hober_mallow]

This is actually a pretty good fit for Blackwater security.

However, I wouldn''t necessarily nuke Somalia. Try to find some sort of untraceable poision that could be dropped from the air.

[andor3]

This is actually a pretty good fit for Blackwater security."

Yep, just a creative marketing campaign--sort of an advert for them really, with a role for an ex-military cruise ship captain. Rent a couple speedboats, hire some people to chase a ship... and soon the checks are rolling in.

[leeanna58]

Really now. At this point if the pirates have captured the ship, SO WHAT. It was just full of Greedy, Selfish, Arrogant Republicans anyway, spending the spoils of our hard earned money.
Posted by sockpuppet4

What evidence do you have that all the passengers on board were Republicans? My former boss is a Democrat and he has actually taken several cruises.

[earache4]

I guess ''The Black Pearl'' isn''t the fastest ship at sea....

[nordeck52]

Where''s the Flying Dutchman when you need it?

[au_fait]

Funny how predictable and gullible people are, calling for some para-military solution just as Blackwater would like. Seems highly questionable that a cruise ship can successfully use "evasive maneuvers" against two speedboats--sounds like the whole thing was staged. Maybe the boats were not pirates (who saw them?). Maybe the ship captain played along (were there even really boats after them?).

Posted by andor3

Have you seen the articles and postings of the types of boats being used (actually in this article it was a skiff). Outrunning is possible depending of the conditions. Why is there always some hidden agenda? You show you lack of intelligence with that comment. Have you ever been on a ship or a boat in open water?

[tipsyinct]

YAARR!!! We be wantin'' a mint mojito and a good sit by the pool.

[bobnjersey]

[Stopping piracy is "not something Somalia can do alone. This needs a tremendous effort," he said. ]

where''s the loch ness monster when you need him/her/it?

[used2bfedup1]

They outran "speedboats" at 18.5 knots?

Were these solar-powered "speedboats"?

Made by GM?

Posted by MikeTotten1 at 12:50 PM : Dec 02, 2008

Thats what I was thinking... But I Imagine that boarding a vessel at speed even 18.5 knots(about 20mph) would be hard to do.

[gjb5649]

six pirates in two speedboats.
The ship''s captain brought the Nautica up to flank speed (above its full cruising speed of 18.5 knots)

What kind of "speedboats" can''t do 20 knots?

[erb0087]

"Instead, put about a dozen well armed paramilitary people on each ship. Their instructions are to shoot to kill if the ship is legitimately threatened. I would call guys in speedboats shooting at you a legitimate threat.

That ended train robbery in the U.S. and that will stop pirates on the high seas."

Posted by buttonjockey at 10:38 AM : Dec 02, 2008
--------------------------------

This was portrayed in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," when that "special train" pulled up after their last U.S. job, and Joe Lefors, Lord Baltimore and company came out shooting in hot pursuit.

"Whatever they''re selling, I don''t want it," said the fleeing Butch. "Who are those guys ?..."

[erb0087]

"What kind of "speedboats" can"t do 20 knots?"

Somali ones.

[erb0087]

This situation gives Barack Obama a chance to acquire some real Commander-in-Chief experience.

"War with the Barabary Pirates: The Sequel"

[erb0087]

Make that:

"War with the Barbary Pirates: The Sequel"

...From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Mogadishu...

[erb0087]

On second thought, lets not send troops into Somalia.

I have a bad feeling about that.

[erb0087]

Can"t we just make yearly cash payments to the Somali Pirates to make them stop ?

I''m sure the American people wouldn''t mind having their taxes raised slightly for that purpose.

[erb0087]

That''s what the English did, to get the Vikings to stop attacking them.

They just paid them to stop. It was called the Danegeld.

It worked fine.

[kk217]

Two sets of quad 50s on the starboard and port sides and one set on the bow and stern. Anybody see what a .50cal round can do to wood or fibreglass not to mention Somali bodies? Train a few crewmen to use em and I''d bet the Somalis would try and find a new line of chickensh*t work

[kk217]

Can"t we just make yearly cash payments to the Somali Pirates to make them stop ?

I''''m sure the American people wouldn''''t mind having their taxes raised slightly for that purpose.

Posted by erb0087

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

I hope you were being sarcastic

[kk217]

Sorry about the multiple post. I didn''''t mean to do that on purpose. I clicked ont he PUBLISH button and notheing happened so I clicked on it a couple of more times and instant spamming.

Sorry everybody.

Posted by Abrame

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

LOL been there done that

[gce65]

Two sets of quad 50s on the starboard and port sides and one set on the bow and stern. Anybody see what a .50cal round can do to wood or fibreglass not to mention Somali bodies? Train a few crewmen to use em and I''''d bet the Somalis would try and find a new line of chickensh*t work

Posted by Kk217 at 01:57 PM : Dec 02, 2008
-----------
Nice hypermilitarized, arm-the-world rhetoric, you ****! Either the navies that operate in that part of the world need to expand their patrols, or the cruise ships and cargo vessels need to start investing in heavier security. If so, then the cruise ships and cargo companies will pass on the cost to their rich customers.

[kk217]

Nice hypermilitarized, arm-the-world rhetoric, you ****! Either the navies that operate in that part of the world need to expand their patrols, or the cruise ships and cargo vessels need to start investing in heavier security. If so, then the cruise ships and cargo companies will pass on the cost to their rich customers.

Posted by gce65

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

Now why do I have to be a ****? I believe Homosexuals would rather just protest

[bobnjersey]

[Two sets of quad 50s on the starboard and port sides and one set on the bow and stern. Anybody see what a .50cal round can do to wood or fibreglass not to mention Somali bodies? Train a few crewmen to use em and I''''d bet the Somalis would try and find a new line of chickensh*t work]
[Posted by Kk217 at 01:57 PM : Dec 02, 2008]

it will also mean a new business model for the cruise industry.

would you get on a cruise ship that needed 50 caliber guns all around the ship?

[gce65]

Instead, put about a dozen well armed paramilitary people on each ship....

Posted by buttonjockey at 10:38 AM : Dec 02, 2008
------------
That''s a cost for each cruise ship and tanker company to make, but they haven''t done it yet. Why? Cost.
A dozen security people in today''s mercenary might cost about $80-100K each per year. That''s about $1.2 million per ship for personnel.
Then add arms to that at maybe $150-$300K. That''s $1.5 million per ship.
Doesn''t sound very affordable.

[impeach___w]

Haven''t you heard guns are ileagal on cruise ships? It''s For the safety of the passengers.
When danger reared it''s ugly head, the captain bravely turned his tail and fled...
And world peace continued.
What would the captain do?
We should all try to be like the capt''n?
Can we; Can''t we all just get along? (snifles, wipes away tear...)

[erb0087]

The world community could invest in retraining these Somali pirates.

High seas piracy is so 17th century.

They could be helped into the lucrative modern world of software piracy.

[random_radar]

The constitution specifically authorizes congress to grant letters of marque for dealing with piracy. They knew how to deal with these issues in the good old days. Just grant Blackwater and anyone else who wants to fight piracy a letter of marque and turn them loose. Problem solved!