Chief Nato spokesman James Appathurai is quoted in the BBC, saying it is hard to spot Somali pirates:
“There are a host of pirates, but they don’t identify themselves with eye-patches and hook hands so it isn’t immediately obvious that they are pirates.”
I think this has always been true. Pirates have never wanted to be identified early, since it makes their chase harder, but I have to think that the direction of their boat, along with machine guns, RPGs and masks, all make for a good giveaway.
Friend or foe? Black Beard never wore a patch or a hook.
Fresh from two years of plying the waters of the Sea of Cortez, the Hawkses were believed to have been killed Nov. 15, 2004, after being tricked into a test sail of their 55-foot yacht, the Well-Deserved. They had put the boat up for sale because they wanted to move back to Arizona to be closer to their newborn grandchild.
[…]
Machain testified that he helped Deleon cover the couple’s eyes and mouths with duct tape as Jackie Hawks cried. The Hawkses were taken up to the main cabin one at a time to sign and fingerprint title transfer documents for the boat, he testified.
Jackie Hawks was told that if she cooperated she would be released, Machain recalled.
[…]
Deleon lifted the anchor and threw it overboard as Kennedy pushed the couple into the water, Machain said.
Deleon then turned the yacht around and the men collected cash, jewelry and other valuables, Machain said. Kennedy cracked open a beer, grabbed a fishing rod and fished all the way back to Newport Harbor, he said.
I just found a copy of Argonautica by Apollonius, translated by R. C. Seaton, available online at The Internet Classics Archive A Greek epic poem written in the 3rd century BCE, it tells of a mythical voyage by Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from Colchis.
Well, I stand corrected. I mentioned earlier that I thought the US would show concern for the problem with pirates near the Horn of Africa. Not so, points out the Danger Room from Wired.com:
“The coalition does not have the resources to provide 24-hour protection for the vast number of merchant vessels in the region,” Combined Maritime Forces commander, U.S. vice admiral Bill Gortney tells Reuters. “The shipping companies must take measures to defend their vessels and their crews.”
Taking a historical view, it pains me to read this. One of the primary reasons he United States of America dumped the Articles of Confederation and wrote the Constitution of the United States was to gain the power of taxation. And the primary reason the founding fathers needed taxation was so the country could build a Navy for the specific purpose of fighting pirates.
I also find it very frustrating that last Thursday, the Admirals stood in front of the American people in Durham and discussed in detail the role of naval power to protect the global system to insure the free flow of trade. Yet here we have a clear example of trade disruption on the seas, and the U.S. Navy basically tells ship owners they can’t solve the problem.
Nicely said. My opinion was biased by speaking with former crew of US warships that patrolled the Indian Ocean. They said special forces teams would often helicopter in (probably from Djibouti), brag about taking out pirates on secret missions, and then disappear again. Perhaps it is only certain merchant ships that get this treatment. France, who actively maintains a large military base in Djibouti and operates an African rapid deployment force (RDF) from there, certainly seems ready and willing to make an impression on the pirates. Perhaps I am also biased there too as I once met a former Foreign Legionnaire stationed in Djibouti who spoke of fighting Somalis.
