U.S. Navy Destroyer Tracks Pirates And Their U.S. Hostage

Yesterday, a group of Somali pirates seized control of the American container ship Maersk Alabama off the coast of Africa. Though the crew managed to regain control of the ship (hence today's Post cover), the NY Times reports, "the pirates were still holding the ship’s captain as they fled the ship in an unpowered lifeboat."

Now a U.S. naval warship is monitoring the lifeboat, which is in the Indian Ocean, and the Navy says other warships are en route. The Maersk line released a statement, "We are working closely with all involved government agencies, particularly the U.S. Navy, which has arrived on the scene and is taking the lead in working toward the captain's release," which the Washington Post says suggests that Captain Richard Philips is unharmed.

This is the first time a ship with an American crew has been hijacked in the Horn of Africa. The hijacking of the ship has prompted cruises to change their routes—Staten Island resident is currently on a cruise near Kenya; Margaret Flynn wrote to the Advance, "In addition to the changes in route, another precaution is that security personnel are posted at strategic points on the ship scanning the sea on four-hour watches. Of course, the ship has radar and other surveillance detection devices, but these small pirate craft may not be detected by these."

And local merchant marine academies do discuss piracy, though SUNY Maritime College professor Larry Howard points out, "The kind of resources [merchant mariners] have available to fight off pirates like those in Somalia, who have rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, are somewhat unbalanced." Howard tells Newsday that the merchant mariners use high-pressure hoses to ward off pirates.

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By Jen Chung in News on April 9, 2009 8:46 AM

Comments [rss]

joejoeone

I can't believe that there are still pirates in the world today that's crazy.

One would think with all the technology that's available they would be able to stop these guys. I read a funny article regarding this, here's the link...

http://brooklyninvegas.com/?p=332m

Snoopy

Aye matey, but for a bit of rum and a fine lass ass the pirates be lively and well.

Just blow the mofo's out of the water and be done with it. I don't go cruising in Brownsville at 4:05 in the morning. So if these shippers are out in the no no land, they are really stupid.

Let the NRA take care of the bearing of arms bullshit set out by those idiots at the UN.

tsol

Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute!

BigNick

Commercial vessels are not allowed to carry any arms or armed guards onboard their ships. Some boats experimented with mercinaries and non-lethal weapons like water cannons and other devices, but they still got highjacked and in one case the mercinaries jumped overboard to save their asses.

Snoopy

Don't cruise ships have an armed uniformed "protection" service on board? It would seem strange if they didn't.

Felix Hoenikker

Really???? Is that ridiculous law a US or UN creation ?

This sounds like a great gig for Blackwater and their ilk.

Felix Hoenikker

I guess paying ransom and whining for 'the navy to do it' is easier/cheaper than hiring a few mercs to protect their ships.

The shipping company owners sound like cheap douches.

Snoopy

They are 300 miles out at sea in an un-powered lifeboat? Man are they going to have sore arms when they get back to Somalia.

Here's a sure remedy for the sore arms. Blast the mofo's out of the water.

Rocknrope

Form a defensive perimenter around the free pizza bar!

hotstepper

how is it that they haul millions of dollars of (potentially sensitive) goods without packing some heat on board? you mean we can't hire some armed rednecks to sail the high seas for a few weeks at a time? sheesh, we could pay'em with Old Mil or PBR. easy!

Outter Burrougher

I've seen in a couple of different places - NPR and BBC, in particular - that this is the first time a merchant ship sailing under a US flag has been taken by pirates. I'm sure part of that is that so few ships sail under the US flag, but that's still crazy if it's true. Not since the days of the Barbary Corsairs!

Outter Burrougher

what i meant to say, was that the reports are that it was the first time a merchant ship flying under a US flag had been taken in 200 years - apparently, I only thought I typed the 200 years part (and hence the reference to the Barbary Corsairs, whose asses we kicked so hard, the Marines still sing about it)

Geoelh

You can be sure that's got something to do with hauling for the US DoD and not patriotism, altruism or having a lazy accountant.

angry_mariner

Jen, there is only one maritime academy on Long Island, the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. SUNY Maritime is located at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx.