20 Americans on hijacked ship

[sexnews]

Nairobi - Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a US-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard, the shipping company said.

The 17 000-ton Maersk Alabama was carrying emergency relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, said Peter Beck-Bang, spokesperson for the Copenhagen-based container shipping group AP Moller-Maersk.

In a statement, the company confirmed that the US-flagged vessel has 20 US nationals onboard.

Cmdr Jane Campbell, a spokesperson for the US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving US nationals and a US-flagged vessel in recent memory". She did not give an exact timeframe.

The US Navy confirmed that the ship was hijacked on Wednesday at 04:30 about 450km southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia.

Sixth in a week

The ship is the sixth to be seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

US Navy spokesperson Lt Nathan Christensen said the closest US ship at the time of the hijacking was 550km away.

"The area the ship was taken in is not where the focus of our ships has been," Christensen told The Associated Press on the phone from the 5th Fleet's Mideast headquarters in Bahrain.

"The area we're patrolling is more than a million miles in size. Our ships cannot be everywhere at every time," Christensen said.

When asked how the US Navy plans to deal with this, Campbell said: "It's fair to say we are closely monitoring the situation, but we will not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations."

Somali pirates are trained fighters who frequently dress in military fatigues and use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades. Far out to sea, their speedboats operate from larger mother ships.

Million-dollar payouts

Most hijackings end with million-dollar payouts. Piracy is considered the biggest money-maker in Somalia, a country that has had no stable government for decades. Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said pirates took up to $80m in ransoms last year.

This is the second time that Somali pirates have seized a ship belonging to the privately held shipping group AP Moller-Maersk. In February 2008, the towing vessel Svitzer Korsakov from the AP Moller-Maersk company Svitzer was briefly seized by pirates.

Before this latest hijacking, Somali pirates were holding 14 vessels and about 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

- AP

 

[Tech]

Clearly this means that all Africans are terrorists.

right?

Since we are allowed to judge an entire region based on the actions of a small group of extremists.

 

[Samoan-Z]

Yep Tech, pretty much lmao.

But I actually feel sorry for the Americans they are "Nationals" which means... America isn't coming to save them, we barely move for citizens let alone nationals.

 

[sexnews]

Yep Tech, pretty much lmao.

But I actually feel sorry for the Americans they are "Nationals" which means... America isn't coming to save them, we barely move for citizens let alone nationals.

I don't know, maybe now something will be done.

 

[Braaq]

Yep Tech, pretty much lmao.

But I actually feel sorry for the Americans they are "Nationals" which means... America isn't coming to save them, we barely move for citizens let alone nationals.

Actually Navy war ships are on their way as of right now or may be there at the time of me typing this.

 

[Samoan-Z]

Actually Navy war ships are on their way as of right now or may be there at the time of me typing this.

Yea but we aren't there for the nationals, if they are saved it's a bonus.
We are there to spin the world's images of america and to do what we do best, police the world.

 

[sexnews]

Yea but we aren't there for the nationals, if they are saved it's a bonus.
We are there to spin the world's images of america and to do what we do best, police the world.

Tech and Ironslave will love that statement!!

 

[Samoan-Z]

Tech and Ironslave will love that statement!!

Man you totally fucked up the bait.

 

[sexnews]

Man you totally fucked up the bait.

You also like tormenting them?

 

[Duality]

Clearly this means that all Africans are terrorists.

right?

Since we are allowed to judge an entire region based on the actions of a small group of extremists.

not all, just most

Piracy is considered the biggest money-maker in Somalia, a country that has had no stable government for decades. Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said pirates took up to $80m in ransoms last year.

 

[sexnews]

Don't fuck with America!

Mombasa - An American ship captain was freed unharmed on Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, US officials said.

Captain Richard Phillips' crew, who said they escaped after he offered himself to the pirates as a hostage, erupted in cheers abroad their ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya, waving an American flag and firing a flare in celebration.

The US Navy's 5th Fleet said Phillips was resting comfortably on a US warship after receiving a medical exam.

The Navy said Phillips was freed at 19:19 local time.

He was taken aboard the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Bainbridge and then flown to the San Diego-based USS Boxer for the medial exam, 5th Fleet spokesperson Nathan Christensen said.

Christensen said Phillips was now "resting comfortably".

The USS Boxer was in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Christensen said.

US officials said a pirate who had been involved in negotiations to free Phillips, but who was not on the lifeboat during the rescue, was in military custody. FBI spokesperson John Miller said that would change as the situation became "more of a criminal issue than a military issue".

Crew overjoyed

Justice Department spokesperson Dean Boyd said prosecutors were looking at "evidence and other issues" to determine whether to bring a case in the United States.

When Phillips' crew heard the news aboard their ship in the port of Mombasa, they placed an American flag over the rail of the top of the Maersk Alabama and whistled and pumped their fists in the air.

Crew fired a bright red flare into the sky from the ship.

"We made it!" said crewman ATM Reza, pumping his fist in the air.

"He managed to be in a 120-degree oven for days, it's amazing," said another of about a dozen crew members who came out to talk to reporters.

He said the crew found out the captain was released because one of the sailors had been talking to his wife on the phone.

Captain Joseph Murphy, the father of second-in-command Shane Murphy, thanked Phillips for his bravery.

"Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday. I have made it clear throughout this terrible ordeal that my son and our family will forever be indebted to Captain Phillips for his bravery," Murphy said.

"If not for his incredible personal sacrifice, this kidnapping and act of terror could have turned out much worse."

In the written statement, Murphy said both his family and Phillips' "can now celebrate a joyous Easter together".

Crew told to lock themselves in

Phillips' crew of 19 American sailors reached safe harbour in Kenya's northeast port of Mombasa on Saturday night under guard of US Navy Seals, exhilarated by their freedom but mourning the absence of Phillips.

Crew said their ordeal had begun with the Somali pirates hauling themselves up from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below.

As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.

Phillips was then held hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was closely watched by US warships and a helicopter in an increasingly tense standoff.

Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat on Friday and tried to swim for his freedom, but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon at or near him, according to US Defence Department officials.

- AP

 

[sexnews]

Washington - The Somali pirates who kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips were heavily armed but inexperienced youths, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday, adding that the hijackers were aged 17-19.

The pirates, three of whom were killed by US Navy snipers on Sunday, were "untrained teenagers with heavy weapons", Gates told a group of 30 students and faculty members at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia.

- AFP

 

[Tech]

The 9/11 hijackings probably could have been avoided if the airlines were able to legally protect themselves with weapons onboard the aircraft.

These open-sea hijackings could be avoided if the people operating the ships were able to protect themselves with weapons.


oooops.....I forgot, guns are evil and should be banned for teh earth. lulz.

 

[Big VIC]

?

 

[sexnews]

Burlington, Vermont - US cargo ship captain Richard Phillips returned on Friday to a hero's welcome - and a home-cooked meal - after surviving capture by Somali pirates and a bloody rescue.

Phillips, 53, touched down in Burlington, Vermont, aboard a plane operated by his shipping company Maersk.

The bearded merchant sailor, hailed for giving himself up to pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew and ship, beamed with pleasure as he was reunited with his family.

He spoke briefly to the media for the first time since his ordeal, before being whisked under police escort to his house in Underhill.

A Maersk representative, who asked not to be identified, said it was not clear when Phillips might go back to sea.

But his immediate future was clear: "A neighbour has brought over chicken pot pie for the evening meal," the official said. Brownies were also on the menu, along with his "favourite beer".

Emotional scene

The Maersk Alabama's 19 other crew, who said they owed their escape from the pirates to Phillips, arrived safely in Washington on Thursday.

In an emotional scene, Phillips' family - wife Andrea, children Daniel and Mariah, and mother Virginia - rushed up the steps of the plane as soon as it came to a halt on the tarmac.

A moment later they re-emerged with Phillips, who wore a cap with the insignia of USS Bainbridge, the warship that organised his dramatic rescue.

His route home to mostly rural Vermont started in Mombasa Kenya, with refuelling stopovers in Malta and Santiago, Spain.

Waiting all day to witness the occasion were local residents Lynn Coeby and her mother Eleanor.

"I just wanted to let him know he's a good guy and he's safe and sound on his native ground," Coeby said.

She held a sign that said: "You're a good man, Captain Phillips."

 

[Tech]

hero.....lulz.

 

[TJ]

hero.....lulz.

Yea, I don't get why the media keeps calling him that.

You can really tell that this captain and his family really want to be left alone but the media keep hounding them...