Somali Pirates Attack US Flagged Ship "Maersk Alabama" Again

[ToughOmbre]

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months on Wednesday, but guards on board the U.S.-flagged cargo ship repelled the takeover attempt, the EU's naval force said.

Pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama last April and took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage, holding him at gunpoint in a lifeboat for five days. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates in a daring nighttime attack.

Somali pirates attacked the ship with automatic weapons early Wednesday about 350 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, but guards on board the craft fired back and thwarted the attempted hijacking.

Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force, called it "pure chance" that the Maersk Alabama had been targeted a second time.

"It's not the first vessel to have been attacked twice, and it's a chance that every single ship takes as it passes through the area," Harbour said. "At least this time they had a vessel protection detachment on board who were able to repel the attack."

An EU patrol aircraft from the Horn of Africa nation Djibouti was called in to investigate, and the closest EU Naval Force vessel was tasked with searching for the pirate attack group, the EU Naval Force said in a statement.

Phillips' ordeal last spring galvanized the attention of the U.S. public to the dangers of operating merchant ships in the Horn of Africa, one of the busiest and most precarious sea lanes in the world.

Pirates have greatly increased their attacks in recent weeks after seasonal rains subsided. On Monday, a self-proclaimed pirate said that Somali hijackers had been paid $3.3 million for the release of 36 crew members from a Spanish vessel held for more than six weeks — a clear demonstration of how lucrative the trade can be for impoverished Somalis.

Phillips told The Associated Press last month from his farmhouse in Vermont that he was contemplating retiring from sea life after his ordeal. He's been given a book deal and a movie could be in the works.

Phillips was hailed as a hero for helping his crew thwart April's hijacking before he was taken hostage, but he says he never volunteered, as crew members and his family reported at the time.



TO

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Idiots...

We need to have open season on the pirates. Just kill them and throw em to the sharks. Who gives two shits about them?

[beaupower32]

Agree with you Adler.

I say put 5 in. guns on all american freighters, make them radar guided, then lets see if the pirates get close. The only down side to that would be that the radar probably wouldnt be able to see a low profile boat like the pirates are using.

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I still say use Q-ships. Convert a couple a freighters with five inch guns, chain guns, and a detachment of marines.

[Clay_Allison]

I guess they are putting armed security guards on boats now. I had heard there were complications with that. I am a licensed security guard, I wonder if they are hiring. They must pay well as long and slow and boring as those trips are.

[diddyriddick]

Idiots...

We need to have open season on the pirates. Just kill them and throw em to the sharks. Who gives two shits about them?

Nah! Don't waste the bullet. Just throw them to the sharks.

[beaupower32]

You know what, forget the Q ships. Just recommission the USS Missouri, and park her big ass off the coast. Dont think you would have much trouble after that.

[Ferdinand Foch]

Good thinking Beau, though I think that humanitarian groups around the world would be "horrified" at this idea (oh well, let's try it anyway, hehe).
Personally, I wouldn't mind if ships were guarded in convoys while going through. Having a dozen or so navy vessels around a flotilla of cargo ships. I mean, the pirates wouldn't be that stupid to try and take several navy ships at once (then again, maybe they are).

[ccheese]

......Personally, I wouldn't mind if ships were guarded in convoys while
going through. Having a dozen or so navy vessels around a flotilla of cargo ships. I mean, the pirates
wouldn't be that stupid to try and take several navy ships at once (then again, maybe they are).

I think the CO's of at least a dozen DDG's would jump at the chance. However, you have to be PC about
this.... first an investigation, then an environmental impact study, then..... you get the idea....

Charles

[GrauGeist]

Still say that a sub or two operating in those waters would be the ticket...

They quietly look for those asshats, and when they make contact, dispatch 'em without any media or fanfare...they're just "gone", whithout a trace.

So there's no "heros", no glorification, nothing...the skinnies just notice that their pals are disappearing one by one. *poof* into thin air...and no one knows anything.

I pretty much figure that would make them think twice about wanting to be a pirate and the media can't coddle them and make them into media darlings.

[B-17engineer]

Beau,are you sure 5 in. guns can lock onto basically raft with a motor? Just kidding, that'd be nice

Should be heat guided and maybe just maybe we can hit the raft....

These guys are dumba$$es

[lesofprimus]

Gotta agree with u Dave, poppin them with a Mark 48 is the way to go...

Sharks get the survivors and thier buddies sit there wondering what happened.....

[Clay_Allison]

Gotta agree with u Dave, poppin them with a Mark 48 is the way to go...

Sharks get the survivors and thier buddies sit there wondering what happened.....

A mark 48 is bigger than the average pirate boat. Think smaller.

[vikingBerserker]

A couple of Phalanx systems would be nice. Greek fire would come in handy as well.

[RabidAlien]

I'm with the Q-ship idea. Just the random, odd ship out there with a little hotter cargo than usual...leave the punks wondering if the huge frikkin ship they're puttering up to is loaded with linen or lead?

Beau....that pic is awesome!!! Check out the lateral wake on the bow...I know those guns put off quite a bit of recoil, but all of em goin off at once have moved that sucker quite a distance, considering the amount of resistance/friction the length of the ship presents...