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| Africa Horn |
| Somali pirates make big mistake |
| 2009-03-31 |
| USS BOXER, At Sea -- In a show of international sea power in the Gulf of Aden, seven nations representing three task forces coordinated efforts to pursue a skiff after the pirates on board opened fire on a German oiler, the Federal German Ship (FGS) Spessart, March 29. At approximately 3 p.m. yesterday, FGS Spessart, reported that they were being attacked by pirates who may have mistaken the naval supply ship for a commercial merchant vessel. An embarked security team aboard the ship returned fire on the suspected pirates during the initial attack. Hey, Mahmoud! Can they do that? Subsequently, Spessart pursued the skiff while providing additional details of the attack to a variety of international naval vessels operating in the area. A number of naval ships and aircraft joined the pursuit, including: the Dutch frigate HNLMS Zeven Provincien, an SH-60B helicopter assigned to the Spanish warship SPS Victoria, a Spanish P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, two Marine Corps helicopters from the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 flagship USS Boxer (LHD 4) and the European Union's CTF 465 flagship, the Greek frigate HS Psara. Supported by an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter and a UH-1 Huey assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163 (Reinforced), "Evil Eyes," embarked aboard Boxer, the international naval forces contained the armed suspects until Psara arrived with a German boarding team. That Cobra could've really ruined their day... Upon boarding the skiff, the team found seven suspected pirates and their weapons. The suspected pirates were disarmed and transferred to the German frigate Rheinland-Pfalz where they will remain until a final determination is made regarding potential prosecution. While this event showcased the incredible international naval capabilities operating in the Gulf of Aden, it also highlighted the complexity of counter-piracy operations. The crew of Spessart and the embarked security team provided the critical first line of defense, utilizing defensive measures that are essential for all ships operating in the region. Moreover, nearly five hours transpired between the time Spessart's armed security team thwarted the initial attack and when an armed boarding team was within range of the pirate skiff. In the interim, armed coalition aircraft kept the suspected pirates from getting away. This incident in the Gulf of Aden happened at a time when other pirates have been operating well off the eastern Somali coast. The area off the coast of Somalia and Kenya when combined with the waters of the Gulf of Aden equals more than 1.1 million square miles, roughly four times the size of Texas or the size of the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined. In a region this large merchant mariners must often serve as the first line defenders against pirates, because naval forces will likely not be close enough to respond. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #11 Rope, yardarm, pirates - some assembly required. |
| Posted by: Bill Clusose5913 2009-03-31 22:29 |
| #10 I've got a christening announcement form a USS Boxer - c. 1944 though; my grandfather helped build it. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-03-31 21:14 |
| #9 #8 Well said P2k. The only comfort is that if we go down, the lawyers are |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-31 19:11 |
| #8 Well said P2k. The only comfort is that if we go down, the lawyers are coming with us. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-31 18:53 |
| #7 Next time let the Cobra take the lead. And, as someone said, impose a news blackout. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-03-31 18:47 |
| #6 Goddamn western nations are fucking pussies and our timidity will be the death of us. No, its when Western nations allowed ivory tower lawyers to supersede practical human behavior known as history to write laws. An early warning of Hope and Change meeting reality. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-03-31 16:14 |
| #5 The pirates will be released. They should have sank them. Goddamn western nations are fucking pussies and our timidity will be the death of us. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-03-31 13:17 |
| #4 sink the boat with the pirates on board. News blackout. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-03-31 13:11 |
| #3 That's all well and good, but thanks to the catch-and-release nature of this, these guys will get three-hots-and-a-cot before they're dumped back in Somalia, free to play high seas pirate again. All they've lost is some AK's and a boat. |
| Posted by: Dar 2009-03-31 13:02 |
| #2 What the heck do they call a "skiff" that it could be boarded?? Where I come from a skiff holds no more than 3 and mostly uses oars or a dinky outboard. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2009-03-31 12:06 |
| #1 From another perspective, it took 5 hours for seven of the highest-quality assets from the world's premier military powers to subdue ... a skiff with seven dirtbags aboard. There's a troubling assymetricality to this. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-31 12:04 |