Russians send warship after pirates. L A Times

Now this should be interesting. I wonder if Russia will have the same kind of limiting and perhaps even crippling rules of engagement that Obama has placed on as many as he can in terms of dealing with piracy.

If not Obama, then where did these limitations come from?

Below, from the L.A. Times

Russia sends warship after tanker is hijacked by Somali pirates

A crew of 23 Russians is aboard the Liberian-flagged MV Moscow University, reportedly carrying a cargo worth more than $50 million. The tanker, bound for China, was seized off Yemen.

By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles TimesMay 5, 2010 | 7:00 a.m.

Reporting from Cairo

A Russian warship was sailing toward the kidnapped crew of a Russian-owned oil tanker hijacked Wednesday by Somali pirates as the vessel headed into the Indian Ocean with a cargo reportedly valued at more than $50 million, according to a European antipiracy naval force.

The MV Moscow University tanker had left Sudan and was bound for China when pirates seized the 106,474-ton vessel about 350 miles off the Yemeni island of Socotra. The tanker flew a Liberian flag, but is owned by Novorossiysk Shipping Co. and carried a crew 23 Russians.

“This morning we had an attack on a Liberian-flagged ship Moscow University in the northeastern horn of our operation,” European Union Naval Force Commander Rear Adm. Jan Thornqvist told reporters in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. “The crew members locked themselves in the radar room. This ship has been hijacked.”

The Novorossiysk website said the tanker was apprehended by pirates who opened fire from two small boats: “The company suspects the pirates managed to board the tanker. According to the latest information received from the [ship] none of the 23 seafarers on board have been hurt, the vessel and the cargo sustained no damage.”

The scourge of Somali pirates, who brandish machine guns and travel in speedboats, has forced oil tankers and cargo vessels deeper into the Indian Ocean to avoid hijackings near the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and Suez Canal. But the bandits have adapted, often sailing hundreds of miles off the Yemeni and Somali shores while dodging warships from U.S., Europe and other nations.

The dynamics of Somali pirating may be changing, at least in one lawless cove. Earlier this week, pirates on the coast at Xaradheere fled as Islamic insurgents stormed the town. It was unclear whether the group, known as Hizbul Islam, which has connections to Al Qaeda and has been battling the Somali government for years, will use the base for pirating and hostage taking in attempts to collect millions of dollars in ransom.

Pirates are believed to be holding about 350 hostages and have control of as many as 20 vessels, many of them scattered off the coast of Somalia. Maritime authorities say bandits have attacked hundreds of ships in recent years and have negotiated ransoms estimated to be between $100 million to $200 million.

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About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

4 Replies to “Russians send warship after pirates. L A Times”

  1. Me thinks Russia’s way of dealing with those dirtbags will indeed be different from Buraq Hussein’s… Especially if we look at the following article from Shortnews.com:

    Pirate hunting cruises along the African coast are being offered by private yachts in Russia. For £3,500 per day customers can sail along the coast of Somalia at low speed to entice a pirate into attacking.

    Former special forces troops are on board to make sure no harm comes to the wealthy punters. If a pirate does take the bait, they are met with machine gun, rocket, and grenade fire. For an extra fee, customers can hire an AK-47 and join in.

    “They are worse than the pirates. At least the pirates have the decency to take hostages, these people are just paying to commit murder,” said Vladimir Mironov, a Russian yachtsman.

  2. It’s a stirling example of how pathetic we’ve become as a nation (uk). Literally like and elephant beset by fleas.
    Sailing around in our huge warships designed to fight equally impressive enemy technology, crippled by our own rules of engagement, while they sail Islamic rings around us. The Royal Navy apparently incapable of stopping a British couple being abducted from under their noses.
    Why aren’t we building MTB’s and using helicopters and small fast heavily armed boats to take on these pirates. Search their boats and throw any weapons over board. It’s pathetic.
    “Ships of wood, we had men of steel. Ships of steel, we’ve got men of wood.”

  3. Those Somalis will never know what hit them.

    Russians have been hit recently with terrorist activity and many remember Beslan well.

    I don’t think they will have the same rules of engagement that the dhimmi US has imposed on its armed forces. And that means the seas around the area will be a lot safer, depending on how many ships the Russians send in (and whether or not they won’t attack their former enemies in the Gulf).

  4. Maybe it is about time that the yardarm was reintroduced again into modern warships. It did have another use besides holding a sail.