The Somali pirate attack on the Panamanian-flagged MV Almezaan, shown in this undated photo, occurred off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday, and comes at a time when increasing numbers of commercial ships are hiring private armed security units. EU NAVFOR/AFP/NewscomCommercial Ship Strikes Back In Deadly Shootout With Somali Pirates -- Christian Science Monitor
The attack by Somali pirates on the MV Almezaan Tuesday, in which one pirate was killed, highlights how more commercial ships are hiring private armed security groups for protection.
Private security guards protecting a commercial ship shot dead a Somali pirate Tuesday, the first recorded incident of its kind.
The pirate attack on the Panamanian-flagged MV Almezaan occurred off the coast of Somalia, and comes at a time when increasing numbers of commercial ships are hiring private armed security units to protect them during their passage through the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea. While US and French Navy crews have killed Somali pirates before during hostage rescues on the high seas, today's shooting shows that the Somali piracy problem is potentially growing more violent.
Read more ....
More News On A Shootout Between Somali Pirates And A Commercial Ship
Private guards kill Somali pirate for first time -- AP
Somali pirate killed in cargo ship hijack shooting -- Reuters
In First, Private Guards Kill Somali Pirate -- New York Times
'Guns for hire' kill pirate during attempted hijack off Somalia -- The Telegraph
Security guards shoot dead Somali pirate in attack on MV Almezaan cargo ship -- Times Online
Shoot Out on High Seas -- FOX News
Mercs vs. Pirates: Deadly Shootout on the High Seas -- Danger Room
Somali pirates broaden attacks -- Al Jazeera
My Comment: This is a turning point. The Somali pirates are now realizing that there is a potential cost for their criminality .... if this happens a few more times I will expect these pirates to start rationalizing if they should do this or not.
4 comments:
You left out the incident when British forces approached a Somali pirate mothership and were fired upon. The Brits returned fire and killed three (I believe) pirates.
On a different tack, these pirates are being funded by criminal syndicates which provide front money to acquire the equipment and supplies to implement these actions (small investment, possibly large financial gain as an outcome). Even if naval forces in the Indian Ocean do kill some number of teen-aged pirates, then who will learn from these examples? Probably, not so many likely pirates. They'll just be young, uneducated, uninformed teen-aged males willing to head out onto the ocean blue with promises of vast wealth offered to them by the financiers funding the piracy.
It's time to track down the syndicates and gangs funding the newer / current version / spate of piracy and practice some terminal whack-a-mole with precision munitions and SOF teams.
D. E. Reddick
Thank you D.E. Reddick for your comment.
I think you are thinking of the Maersk Alabama and the rescue of their captain by the US Navy. A link to the story is the following http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53A1LP20090412
In this post I am only focusing on the introduction of security guards on private commercial ships. They follow different rules of engagement, and I am expecting them to not hesitate to fire on pirates if they feel threatened. This has the potential to be a game changer against Somali piracy.
If only a small fraction of the ships have armed guards, the Somalis will never know if they are safe to approach a ship or not. The money may be good for these pirates if there is no threat to their safety, but raise the danger level and I will not be surprise if their enthusiasm to pursue this type of enterprise will diminish with time.
WNU Editor,
Nope, this was prior to the Maersk Alabama incident when a RN warship had a pair of RHIBs approaching a pirate mothership (i.e., whaleboat) and the tangos decided to contest the issue by shooting. Bad, bad, short decision tree...
The Brits returned fire and killed two or three pirates. I simply cannot recall which RN warship it was whose crew offed those several Somali pirates. It's been one to two years since it happened.
D. E. Reddick
You are right. As soon as I had posted my comment I remembered that the British did kill 3 Somali pirates in 2007 or 2008.
Update: A news link to this story is the following ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5141745.ece
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