Seized Tanker

[Snaipyr]

I was expecting to see the Jolly Roger, since there pirates.

 

What shit pirates they are, whats the world coming to when pirates dont use tall ships any more.

 

With all those spy satellites whizzing about up there a tall ship flying the Jolly Roger would surely be spotted.

[Gladys]

Piracy in that area is not new. This one has hit the headlines because of its size and the 'newsworthy' cargo.

 

Are there currently any naval patrols in the area?

I don't know. I suppose it depends which navy as well.

 

I seem to remember reading, 10 or 15 years ago, that piracy was still rife in the China Sea, more recently Somalia has made piracy a bt of a stock in trade (nobody trades with them so they go and nick off passing ships or hold them to ransom to generate 'hard currency'). The difficulty with Somalia is it has no recognised government to entreat to bring this under control.

 

References to Jolly Rogers and eye patches, whilst quite amusing, mask the fact that these pirates are pretty brutal.

[sarahc]

Agreed Gladys. I always wondered who the PR company for pirates was. They seem to have enjoyed great press for a long time!

[Gladys]

Snaatchi & Snaatchi, I guess.

[Skeddan]

This article gives a bit of background to the problem:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...68.story?page=1

 

Probably the cheapest solution would be to pay protection money.

 

Long term the solution is to rebuild Somalia from being a failed state.

[Lonan3]

Indian Navy Sinks Pirate Ship

 

And the Daily Mash article could be reasonable:

 

Piracy in the area is estimated to have cost up to $30m in ransoms so far this year, according to a recent report by a UK think-tank.

 

The pirates who seized the Sirius Star are a sophisticated group with contacts in Dubai and neighbouring countries, says the BBC Somali Service's Yusuf Garaad.

 

Much of their ransom money from previous hijackings has been used to buy new boats and weapons as well as develop a network across the Horn of Africa, he adds.

[Skeddan]

Piracy in the area is estimated to have cost up to $30m in ransoms so far this year

 

$30m is not a great deal of money. (The delay for the oil tanker is probably going to cost more - then add teams dealing with this, insurance people and the rest of it).

 

The profits though might be higher if take booty and plunder into account as well as ransoms.

 

$30m p.a. protection money would be pretty cheap - and for that sort of sum, I'd think you'd get the poachers to turn gamekeepers.

[Sebrof]

NEWS FLASH!

 

The entire population of an island in the Irish Sea is being held to ransom by a group of Ozzy pirates. The pirates are refusing to release any of the hostages until they pay them massive ransoms to be released on the adjacent island.

 

Which adjacent island - there are 2 you know?

 

He means the Calf, obviously.

 

S

[manxy]

Maybe subs could operate in that area and pop up as like in Douglas recently?

[monasqueen]

There are a number of naval vessels patrolling the area, but they cannot be in all places at once.

 

This article mentions Indian and German naval vessels. There are numerous other countries' navies involved as well, at great expense to their respective taxpayers no doubt.

 

The scale of the problem is shown on this map

[Sebrof]

There are a number of naval vessels patrolling the area, but they cannot be in all places at once.

 

This article mentions Indian and German naval vessels. There are numerous other countries' navies involved as well, at great expense to their respective taxpayers no doubt.

 

The scale of the problem is shown on this map

 

Very little expense, actually. In peacetime, the armed services still have to be paid for; these chaps wouldn't be laid-off and sent home if there were no Somali problem.

 

At this time of year, they're probably glad to be swanning around the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean instead of perhaps patrolling off North Norway.

 

S

[P.K.]

Very little expense, actually. In peacetime, the armed services still have to be paid for; these chaps wouldn't be laid-off and sent home if there were no Somali problem.

 

At this time of year, they're probably glad to be swanning around the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean instead of perhaps patrolling off North Norway.

Actually this is what they've been up to.

[Fossils]

NEWS FLASH!

 

The entire population of an island in the Irish Sea is being held to ransom by a group of Ozzy pirates. The pirates are refusing to release any of the hostages until they pay them massive ransoms to be released on the adjacent island.

 

Which adjacent island - there are 2 you know?

 

I know that there are more than 2 adjacent isles. However, if you'd read their small print, you'd know that there is currently just one adjacent isle where the pirates drop off their victims.

[Sebrof]

Very little expense, actually. In peacetime, the armed services still have to be paid for; these chaps wouldn't be laid-off and sent home if there were no Somali problem.

 

At this time of year, they're probably glad to be swanning around the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean instead of perhaps patrolling off North Norway.

Actually this is what they've been up to.

 

Good.

 

S