Pirate Boomtown - thoughts?

[slo_goin]

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women — even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.

"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Haradhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude was anchored Wednesday.

These boomtowns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging this arid African country into chaos.

Life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5.

But in northern coastal towns like Haradhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.

In Haradhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast. Businessmen started gathering cigarettes, food and cold glass bottles of orange soda, setting up small kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to re-supply almost daily.

Dahir said she is so confident in the pirates, she instituted a layaway plan just for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."

For Somalis, the simple fact that pirates offer jobs is enough to gain their esteem, even as hostages languish on ships for months. The population makes sure the pirates are well-stocked in qat, a popular narcotic leaf, and offer support from the ground even as the international community tries to quash them.

"Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Haradhere.

"Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy."

Despite a beefed-up international presence, the pirates continue to seize ships, moving further out to sea and demanding ever-larger ransoms. The pirates operate mostly from the semiautonomous Puntland region, where local lawmakers have been accused of helping the pirates and taking a cut of the ransoms.

For the most part, however, the regional officials say they have no power to stop piracy.

Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators — allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.

There are no reliable estimates of the number of pirates operating in Somalia, but they must number in the thousands. And though the bandits do sometimes get nabbed, piracy is generally considered a sure bet to a better life.

NATO and the U.S. Navy say they can't be everywhere, and American officials are urging ships to hire private security. Warships patrolling off Somalia have succeeded in stopping some pirate attacks. But military assaults to wrest back a ship are highly risky and, up to now, uncommon.

The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to a Western palate. They also keep a steady supply of cigarettes and drinks from the shops on shore.

And when the payday comes, the money sometimes literally falls from the sky.

Pirates say the ransom arrives in burlap sacks, sometimes dropped from buzzing helicopters, or in waterproof suitcases loaded onto tiny skiffs in the roiling, shark-infested sea.

"The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later," Aden Yusuf, a pirate in Eyl, told AP over VHF radio.

The pirates use money-counting machines — the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide — to ensure the cash is real. All payments are done in cash because Somalia, a failed state, has no functioning banking system.

"Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas," Yusuf said. "So we send them money and they send us what we want."

Sounds like the pirates have quite a successful business going! Any thoughts on whether or not we'll get involved? On the bright side... at least we don't have to send them as much foreign aid now!

Edited November 19, 2008 by jmatt.walsh

[Guest r6pilot]

I'm surprised they haven't taken a stand (i.e. mounting some 50 cals around the boat and employeing some folks who know how to use them) against these dip shits.

After more searching, it looks like the Indians are getting pissed: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/19...ates/index.html

Edited November 19, 2008 by r6pilot

[Clayton Bigsby]

Probably pretty dumb for the Somalis to start fvcking with the Saudis and their oil/money supply. I imagine the Saudis will do something big about that, fast - they've got the means and the money to do so.

[Steve Davies]

I'm surprised they haven't taken a stand

The British Royal Navy and the French Navy have been protecting shipping from these clowns for quite a while - the problem is that they cannot be everywhere all the time, and there is a lot of water to cover. The good news is that only a couple of weeks ago, a squad of Royal Marine Commandos gave 'the good news' to a boat full of pirates.

[Guest r6pilot]

The British Royal Navy and the French Navy have been protecting shipping from these clowns for quite a while - the problem is that they cannot be everywhere all the time, and there is a lot of water to cover. The good news is that only a couple of weeks ago, a squad of Royal Marine Commandos gave 'the good news' to a boat full of pirates.

Of course you don't get that info through our news outlets (Communist News Network, More Socialism NBC, etc). Thanks for the info!

[MD]

The British Royal Navy and the French Navy have been protecting shipping from these clowns for quite a while - the problem is that they cannot be everywhere all the time, and there is a lot of water to cover. The good news is that only a couple of weeks ago, a squad of Royal Marine Commandos gave 'the good news' to a boat full of pirates.

Thing is, the Navy dosen't have to be everywhere at once. These pirates obviously stage out of shore bases, and what functioning government there is in Somalia has given the green light to any nation and any entity (read: Blackwater) to operate at will against the pirates, and this is aside from it being an international crime. Instead of chasing around their Boston Whalers and trying to be everywhere at once, why not just shore bombard their staging sites? Stop the water at the top of the proverbial funnel? As is, we're following the Vietnam-esqe failed strategy where we tried to intercept supplies once they were at the end of the octopus tentacles of the Ho Chi Minh trail instead of destroying them on Haiphong's harbor and docks.

The Navy is chasing it's tail out there in the millions of square miles of ocean trying to run these guys down. Escorting ships through sea lanes is simply reactive; hitting them where they live, taking out their livelihood, their homes, their families, etc....is proactive. Hit them back with what they give, multiplied by 10...they'll get the message.

[Clayton Bigsby]

Isn't this a prime mission for Predators/Reapers/Global Hawk? Loitering, watching from way above, following, and dropping bombs/shooting hellfires when needed/possible?

I mean I remember when that Ukrainian ship full of tanks got hijacked, and went to harbor...boats constantly coming and going...how hard would it be to follow those people, see where they go, and kill the snakes in their lair?

My guess is this stuff just hasn't been important enough yet.

[Vertigo]

Sounds like the pirates have quite a successful business going! Any thoughts on whether or not we'll get involved? On the bright side... at least we don't have to send them as much foreign aid now!

Should we get involved? Dunno, guess it depends on what percentage of the loot we'll get.

[SuperWSO]

Probably pretty dumb for the Somalis to start fvcking with the Saudis and their oil/money supply. I imagine the Saudis will do something big about that, fast - they've got the means and the money to do so.

The Saudis have the money, but have you ever seen a Saudi do anything? They just might send a bunch of TCNs to kick some pirate ass, but there must be an easier way. Maybe the Saudi's can pay the Indian Navy to sink a few more pirates. Put out a bounty on pirate ships.

[FourFans]

Isn't this a prime mission for Predators/Reapers/Global Hawk? Loitering, watching from way above, following, and dropping bombs/shooting hellfires when needed/possible?

I mean I remember when that Ukrainian ship full of tanks got hijacked, and went to harbor...boats constantly coming and going...how hard would it be to follow those people, see where they go, and kill the snakes in their lair?

My guess is this stuff just hasn't been important enough yet.

Yeah! Boxhead where the hell are you when the Saudi's need you!

[Clayton Bigsby]

The Saudis have the money, but have you ever seen a Saudi do anything?

It was years back, but some goons hijacked a French airliner and landed in Saudi Arabia...whose commandos stormed the plane and killed every one of them.

Commandos were Saudi, not French.

Granted that was their soil, but my thought is threatening their cash/oil flow could get them to aggressively react.

[PapaJu]

Isn't this a prime mission for Predators/Reapers/Global Hawk? Loitering, watching from way above, following, and dropping bombs/shooting hellfires when needed/possible?

I mean I remember when that Ukrainian ship full of tanks got hijacked, and went to harbor...boats constantly coming and going...how hard would it be to follow those people, see where they go, and kill the snakes in their lair?

My guess is this stuff just hasn't been important enough yet.

Well if Somalia wasn't important than we wouldn't have sent a gunship to light the place up a little while ago. I'm sure there's some double-top-secret political reason why they're not going to cut the head off the snake though.

[Toro]

The Saudis have the money, but have you ever seen a Saudi do anything? They just might send a bunch of TCNs to kick some pirate ass, but there must be an easier way. Maybe the Saudi's can pay the Indian Navy to sink a few more pirates. Put out a bounty on pirate ships.

Shack. The Saudis are an extremely reactive and defensive nation - if the fight does not come to them, they will not likely take it outside the boundaries of the Kingdom.

[Steve Davies]

Thing is, the Navy dosen't have to be everywhere at once. These pirates obviously stage out of shore bases, and what functioning government there is in Somalia has given the green light to any nation and any entity (read: Blackwater) to operate at will against the pirates, and this is aside from it being an international crime. Instead of chasing around their Boston Whalers and trying to be everywhere at once, why not just shore bombard their staging sites? Stop the water at the top of the proverbial funnel?

MD

From our perspective, I am fairly sure that the reason this doesn't happen is because of the level of escalation that it would entail. I don't know about the French or the Indians, but the British Royal Navy probably does not have the resources required to escalate its involvement - at least, not without diverting vessels from other global ops that are more important to the British people (anti-drug smuggling ops in the Carribean being a prime example). I don't know much about the Navy, so I could be talking shit, but that's my best guess.

Politically speaking, I also don't believe that the British have the kind of vested interest, or relationship required, to proactively target these pirates. And, I am not convinced that the British people would support such a move - don't forget that only a year or so ago, the Somalis were calling for a Somali-based British school teacher to be put to death for allowing one of her class to call a teddy bear Mohammad!

My guess is this stuff just hasn't been important enough yet.

That's probably right on the money. When a US-registered vessel, or one carrying US citizens, gets boarded by these pirates, that may well change.

Well if Somalia wasn't important than we wouldn't have sent a gunship to light the place up a little while ago. I'm sure there's some double-top-secret political reason why they're not going to cut the head off the snake though.

Covert activities against AQ in the region have nothing to do with helping the ailing government combat pirates who are decidedly not hard core, fanatical Muslims.

Perhaps the lack of overt US interest stems from the fact that, no matter how bad these pirates are, they are a whole lot better than the increasingly popular Somali AQ? And, so long as these pirates don't start fucking with American shipping, the US is happy to let this play out?

[drewpey]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/20...alia/index.html

(CNN) -- Russia will send additional ships to the Horn of Africa in an effort to crack down on the recent wave of hijackings by Somalia-based pirates, its navy chief said Thursday.

The Russian frigate Neustrashimy is already in the region and has helped repel pirate attacks on at least two ships. Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky told the official news agency Ria Novosti that more ships would be joining it soon.

"After Neustrashimy, Russia will be sending warships from other fleets to this region," Vysotsky said. No additional details were provided.

A NATO-led international fleet has attempted to crack down on the attacks. An Indian frigate battled a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, leaving the ship ablaze and likely sunk, the country's defense ministry reported.

In September, Vysotsky said Russian ships would be operating on their own. But the crews of the Neustrashimy and the British frigate HMS Cumberland teamed up to chase off pirates who attacked a Danish ship in the gulf earlier this month.

More than 90 ships have been attacked off eastern Africa so far this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy. The pirates, who operate from largely lawless Somalia, still hold 17 vessels -- including the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star, the largest ship captured to date.

The pirates typically hold the ships and their crews for ransom, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Wednesday that the tanker's owners were in talks with the hijackers.

"We do not like to negotiate with either terrorists or hijackers, but the owners of the tanker are the owners of the tanker and they are the final arbiters of what happens there."

Two of the 25 crew members aboard the Sirius Star are Britons, Peter French and James Grady. The British Foreign Office released a statement on their families' behalf Thursday, saying they "greatly appreciate the concern that has been expressed."

"They hope that Peter and James will be home safely to their families very soon," the statement said.

[MD]

MD

From our perspective, I am fairly sure that the reason this doesn't happen is because of the level of escalation that it would entail. I don't know about the French or the Indians, but the British Royal Navy probably does not have the resources required to escalate its involvement - at least, not without diverting vessels from other global ops that are more important to the British people (anti-drug smuggling ops in the Carribean being a prime example). I don't know much about the Navy, so I could be talking shit, but that's my best guess.

Politically speaking, I also don't believe that the British have the kind of vested interest, or relationship required, to proactively target these pirates. And, I am not convinced that the British people would support such a move - don't forget that only a year or so ago, the Somalis were calling for a Somali-based British school teacher to be put to death for allowing one of her class to call a teddy bear Mohammad!

If the Brit RN doesn't have the resources, maybe the RAF could help.....be a great reason to pull the Vulcan's out of retirement for a little carpet-bomb action?

I agree regards the US, we'll likely drag our feet until we're directly affected somehow, then we'll act shocked that something happened to us, then we'll take action.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Gimme a 2 ship of BUFFs with the pod loaded with LGB/JDAM a few opportune tankers and we'll take out the entire pirate fleet.

[MD]

Gimme a 2 ship of BUFFs with the pod loaded with LGB/JDAM a few opportune tankers and we'll take out the entire pirate fleet.

Don't just want to go Vietnam old-school with internal/external M117s and Mk-82s? I mean, why waste the technology.....perfectly good GPS guidance unit and all?

These guys are the perfect fit for a little carpet-bomb action....

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Don't just want to go Vietnam old-school with internal/external M117s and Mk-82s?

While that would be one hell of a fun time and would probably achieve the desired effects with only a single target, economy of force pushes us to the more "high tech" armament.

[MD]

While that would be one hell of a fun time and would probably achieve the desired effects with only a single target, economy of force pushes us to the more "high tech" armament.

Ahh yes, for point targets I see...I'm talking for their shore bases.....

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Ahh yes, for point targets I see...I'm talking for their shore bases.....

Shore bases=carpet bomb the fvck out of them! I would like to walk a string of 27 mk-82s right over the top of the mother ship though, tough to do if she's moving. LGB could be fun as well, imagine their faces when you pick off the smaller Boston Whalers (or whatever) leaving the mother ship all alone wondering WTF...then SHACK a facefull tritonal and straight to Allah and the virgins.

[MD]

Shore bases=carpet bomb the fvck out of them! I would like to walk a string of 27 mk-82s right over the top of the mother ship though, tough to do if she's moving. LGB could be fun as well, imagine their faces when you pick off the smaller Boston Whalers (or whatever) leaving the mother ship all alone wondering WTF...then SHACK a facefull tritonal and straight to Allah and the virgins.

Too bad no more D-model BUFFs left.....

[Guest Raptor390]

Piracy in this area is nothing new, also Commercial vessels are not allowed to be armed. This is tradition that goes back forever, and is also international treaty, we don't arm merchant ships since they are afforded the right of free passage through waters. It is the responsibility of the Navy's of th world to come to the ad of merchant vessels under pirate attack. Also, the US Navy has been doing something about it, they have a task force made up of coalition vessels that are patroling off the coast. Routinely they will work at night, making the same course and speed as a commercial vessel. They can also change their light configuration to appear like a 4,000 TEU Container ship, it is only once the pirates are in range that they realize they just snuck up to an Arleigh Burke, at which point some pimple faced seaman says "say hello to my little friend" and thats all she wrote.

Another reason why not a lot is being done is that it is usually the company that is pirating its own ships. Basically the company pays these pirates to take the ship, they hold the crew and ship "hostage", of course the ransom is paid, but he ship is painted and reflagged and potential gone for good, intern the company gets a big fat pay check for a 50 million dollar vessel that was headed for the scrap heap. Mind you this is all foreign vessels, they have yet to hit an American ship for to reasons.

1. They know we will kick there @$$

2. Most american flagged traffic in that area is operated by Military Sealift Command who will man there vessels with Naval Security teams to protect the civilian mariners who run the vessel.

Just my two cents......more like 5 bucks but oh well.

[Guest AltazanSW]

These pirates obviously stage out of shore bases, and what functioning government there is in Somalia has given the green light to any nation and any entity (read: Blackwater) to operate at will against the pirates, and this is aside from it being an international crime.

Its apparently gotten to the point that the National Geographic Channel has created a series about Private Military Contractors. I caught a few minutes of an episode about a Dutch Company. Apparently they bought a surplus Rigid Hull Inflatable boat and damn near sunk it the first time they put it in the water!

[StoleIt]

Its apparently gotten to the point that the National Geographic Channel has created a series about Private Military Contractors. I caught a few minutes of an episode about a Dutch Company. Apparently they bought a surplus Rigid Hull Inflatable boat and damn near sunk it the first time they put it in the water!

That sounds a lot like an episode of "Whale Watchers" or whatever. Where they flipped one of those first time they tried launching it. Hippies aren't sailors.