Ahem. We Take A Break From This Blog’s Normal Sober Moderation…
By Mitch Berg
…to exclaim “America. F**k yeah! (with emphasis joyously, flagrantly and thankfully added):
The US crew of a ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia has retaken control of the vessel, according to Pentagon sources.
Unnamed US defence officials said one pirate had been captured by the 20-strong crew of the Maersk Alabama, seized earlier in the Indian Ocean.
But the vessel’s Danish owners, Maersk, said they could not confirm that the vessel had been retaken.It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days.
It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates.
And hopefully the last.
Note to the world’s scumbags; we don’t even need a military to kick your thieving asses.
God bless America.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
First time in 200 years?
Hey, that’s a big first for the Obama Administration!!! Feel proud, Peev… feel proud.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Meanwhile the UN has issued a strongly worded statement.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I wonder if sailors negotiated for pirates to jump overboard and give themselves up, or of they used force. Hmmmmmm.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I hope if there was any use of force it was “proportional”.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Meanwhile the UN has issued a strongly worded statement…
condemning the use of force by the American captives.
(You forgot that last part, Chuck.)
April 8th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Pirates Vs. Americans? Cue Nelson Muntz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX3UqY8KZpU
April 8th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Sounds like the story may not be over yet as the pirates reportedly are holding the ship’s captain hostage. US destroyer is on the way.
April 8th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Destroyer is the USS Bainbridge.
I’m gonna guess that 16 guys in the crew are new on the scene and have plans for the pirates.
OK. I hope so.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Several of the cable networks covered the US Maritime Academy adding handgun training to their courses, as well as other methods of dealing with piracy. One of those instructors interviewed was the father of the first mate who led the fight against the pirates.
While I am delighted that our guys overcame the pirates, to be fair it was something like 20 guys overcoming only four pirates in a confined space. Very brave given the pirates were armed, but still, the numbers were in the sailors favor.
The whole piracy problem makes me wonder why no one has done what Teddy Roosevelt did in his day to the Barbary pirates. Why, given that the forces have the UN go ahead to pursue pirates not only into Somali waters but onto land, is there such reluctance to venture into those Somali waters by the various navies providing ships to patrol the area? Why are there not more of these ships traveling at least part of their journeys in convoy for mutual protection? Perhaps I’m just a little bit ruthless, but given the comparative size differences between the ocean going ships and the little boats used by the pirates, WHY don’t the big ships just run the pirates down and sink them???? Given that Somalia looks sadly too much like the dystopia of the Mad Max movies, why are the kicking so much international butt?
And while this is the first modern case of pirates going after US Shipping, it bears mentioning that the main reason for that little fact is that so few ships operate under the US flag. Nearly all US shipping operates on vessels ‘flagged’ under foreign registration.
(I can’t help a momentary chuckle; ‘flagging’ means something radically different in the context of dogs….)
April 9th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Dog Gone wondered: “The whole piracy problem makes me wonder why no one has done what Teddy Roosevelt did in his day to the Barbary pirates.”
Cause Roosevelt didn’t have anything to do with the Barbary pirates? My guess is you’re referring to the Perdicaris incident? Angryclown’s a big TR fan, but this was a debacle – dispatching half the Navy to try to free a Greek-born man living in Tangier who’d been kidnapped and held for ransom (no ships or pirates were involved). Roosevelt’s administration kept quiet the fact Perdicaris had renounced his U.S. citizenship years earlier.
Oh, and Roosevelt freed the guy by pressuring Morocco to give in to the kidnappers’ demands.
Read a book one day, wingnuts, you’ll be glad you did!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Perdicaris
April 9th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Mitch:
“we don’t even need a military to kick your thieving asses.”
But we do need a union to help teach us how.
“the crew of the Maersk Alabama, . . . are part of the International Maritime Union and had been provided with counter-pirate training by … their union”
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=04&year=2009&base_name=unions_fighting_pirates_landin
April 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Piracy began about 20 minutes after Ogg realized that some stuff could float, at which point his neighbor took it. In modern times, piracy has been endemic for at least the last 200 years in the South China Sea.
It used to be that most nations had a quick way of dealing with pirates: death by various means, from the floating St. Andrews cross favored by the Turks to hanging from the yardarm of the Royal Navy.
The punishment was universal, the only difference whether you gave them a trial or not before killing them. It’s only now that we’ve “progressed” enough that we have “trouble” dealing with pirates.
How far England has sunk, from heartily stringing pirates up to worrying if they’re request asylum if captured.
April 9th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
are part of the International Maritime Union and had been provided with counter-pirate training by … their union”
And it worked out SOOOOO well in ALL other pirate cases where Americans were not involved. Let me see – ALL previous attacks on Union-trained personelle went the pirate way, and the ONE and ONLY case so far in recent memory (200 years) did not, and the ONLY difference is Americans are involved. Yes, your logic is impeccable yet again, RatioRick. Are you feeling warm yet?
April 9th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
counter-pirate training by … their union”
But it more or less beggars the imagination to believe that a union trained workers to fight pirates. I’d be amazed if it involved anything but “sit still, don’t resist, and wait for the ransom to get paid”.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
JPA:
I don’t know if any previous cases of piracy involving either Americans or non-Americans involved union trained workers. Indeed, a prime reason to use a non-US flagged ship is to avoid tougher U.S. labor laws.
Mitch:
“I’d be amazed if it involved anything but “sit still, don’t resist, and wait for the ransom to get paid.”
Take a look for yourself.
http://www.seafarers.org/phc/PhotoGallery/sat/
From the catalog:
“The small arms course provides basic familiarization, knowledge and skills necessary to meet the U.S. Navy Standards for Small Arms Training for Security Personnel Afloat. Topic include an in-depth study of small arms safety, use of force and deadly force, the fundamentals of marksmanship, the use of 9MM pistol, the M-14 rifle , and a 12 gauge shotgun. Students are required to qualify on each weapon in order to receive certification.
Prerequisites:
General Admission Requirements
Meet the requirements for the “Qualification to Possess
Firearms or Ammunition Form (18 U.S.C. 9§22)
Length of Course: Twenty-one hours (3 days)”
April 9th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I don’t know if any previous cases of piracy involving either Americans or non-Americans involved union trained workers.
And yet you contend it was union that made this resistance possible and not some other KNOWN factor – like this was the FIRST American ship to be pirated and the FIRST one to offer successful resistance. Like I said – your logic is implausible.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
If any member of the SIU was involved in an previous case of piracy their fairly comprehensive news site does not list it.
http://www.seafarers.org/HeardAtHQ
As far a you or I know this is the FIRST case of an SIU boat to be attacked.
I say the union made a difference because it provided anti-terrorism,weapons training and safety training to its members. You say their American nationality made a difference, how?
April 9th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Look – unlike the vast majority of Democrats, I’ve actually been a union member. I’ll give credit where it’s due; if the SIU not only taught anti-piracy classes, but taught ’em using serious firepower, then a tip of the sailor cap to ’em. More institutions in modern life ought to realize that sometimes a person has to rely on their own devices for their own, and their charges’, safety.
If only the NEA were so smart.