Hijacked US crew "retake" sheep, pirate held hostage by crew.

[kaya'08]

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.

The Associated Press quoted a defence official as saying: "The crew is back in control of the ship.

"It's reported that one pirate is on board under crew control - the other three were trying to flee."

Reports suggest the other three pirates jumped overboard.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Hijacked US crew 'retake vessel'

Dang

 

[donsutherland1]

Unfortunately, until Somalia can become a self-governing state--meaning it has a competent government that is capable of exercising jurisdiction over the territory within Somalia's borders--piracy will likely remain a problem. The increased piracy in recent years is but one consequence of Somalia's being a failed state. A naval quarantine that focuses on blocking Somalia's coastline as opposed to the current approach of patroling the open waters and responding to reports of piracy might dent the operating freedom the pirates currently enjoy.

 

[kaya'08]

Unfortunately, until Somalia can become a self-governing state--meaning it has a competent government that is capable of exercising jurisdiction over the territory within Somalia's borders--piracy will likely remain a problem. The increased piracy in recent years is but one consequence of Somalia's being a failed state. A naval quarantine that focuses on blocking Somalia's coastline as opposed to the current approach of patroling the open waters and responding to reports of piracy might dent the operating freedom the pirates currently enjoy.

Seems to me then NATO's efforts in the region are falling short of successful.

 

[BulletWounD]

Seems to me then NATO's efforts in the region are falling short of successful.

It's pretty much a waste of resources but at least it gives them SOMETHING to do instead of just sitting around thumbing their butts. If nothing else they're gaining experience from these exercises.

 

[danarhea]

Now that the tables are turned, the US crew should ransom the pirates back to their organization. :mrgreen:

 

[American]

Now that the tables are turned, the US crew should ransom the pirates back to their organization. :mrgreen:

Hang them off the side of the ship on meat hooks.

 

[Zyphlin]

Obviously the crew members must've been Ninja's in disguise because we all know...

Ninja > Pirate

I imagine it went something like this....

 

[kaya'08]

There somalian so i had this kind of ninja in mind:

because....

 

[Gibberish]

The latest is that the Captain is still held hostage. I hope he makes it out unharmed.

US crewman: Somali pirates hold captain hostage

 

[RightinNYC]

Artist's sketch of the captain:

 

[Ikari]

Obviously the crew members must've been Ninja's in disguise because we all know...

Ninja > Pirate

I imagine it went something like this....

That's pretty damned hilarious....but pirates are in fact better than ninja.

 

[danarhea]

That's pretty damned hilarious....but pirates are in fact better than ninja.

Of course they are. After all, they have to answer to a higher authority.....

 

[BulletWounD]

This story sounds fishy to me...

(CNN) -- The destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene where a U.S. freighter was hijacked early Wednesday off the Horn Africa, a senior defense official said.


Capt. Richard Phillips, seen in this 1979 photo, is being held captive by pirates, a crew member said.
1 of 3

The hijackers began pursuing the Maersk Alabama around 10 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, when it was about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, according to Maersk.

The pirates boarded the ship a few hours later.

The crew of the Alabama recaptured their ship from the pirates, but their captain remained in the hands of the marauders, one of its officers said.

"There's four Somali pirates, and they've got our captain," Ken Quinn said in a ship-to-shore phone interview.

Capt. Richard Phillips was being held in the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat after the pirates reneged on an agreement to exchange him for a captured pirate, Quinn said.

"We returned him, but they didn't return the captain," he said.

[...]

At 7 p.m. ET, a Navy P-3 aircraft flying over the scene spotted a lifeboat, a senior U.S. Navy official said.

[...]

Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

Here's a live interview with a crew member while the captain is "being held hostage."

Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

So what we have here is a bunch of armed pirates who board the ship, sinking their boat in the process, then leave of their own volition with the ship's captain on a life boat, conveniently enough, before the authorities arrive and the life boat is spotted, apparently empty, adrift in the ocean.... I smell bs. It seems more likely to me that one of them tossed the captain overboard and they made the whole thing up. Am I just being cynical?

I think what we have here is a case of mutiny. Perhaps they thought they could mutineer the ship, get away with the cargo, and blame it on pirates?

 

[thepyro222]

lol... even regular American citizens are better fighters than others... The pirates had AK- 47's, AK-47'S How the hell did they lose that?

 

[Cold Highway]

That crew is full of much win.

 

[BulletWounD]

This story sounds fishy to me...



Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

Here's a live interview with a crew member while the captain is "being held hostage."

Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

So what we have here is a bunch of armed pirates who board the ship, sinking their boat in the process, then leave of their own volition with the ship's captain on a life boat, conveniently enough, before the authorities arrive and the life boat is spotted, apparently empty, adrift in the ocean.... I smell bs. It seems more likely to me that one of them tossed the captain overboard and they made the whole thing up. Am I just being cynical?

I think what we have here is a case of mutiny. Perhaps they thought they could mutineer the ship, get away with the cargo, and blame it on pirates?

STOP THE PRESSES. The whole thing is a lie! We've already got that wench Clinton out there capitalizing on this. IT'S TRANSPARENT BULL****!

 

[RedAkston]

That's pretty damned hilarious....but pirates are in fact better than ninja.

Can I get some clarification to save confusion? You did mean "but pirates" and not "butt pirates" right? :lol:

 

[GottaHurt]

Can I get some clarification to save confusion? You did mean "but pirates" and not "butt pirates" right? :lol:

Good catch. The title of the thread is what caught my eye:

Re: Hijacked US crew "retake" sheep, pirate held hostage by crew

 

[bhkad]

This story sounds fishy to me...



Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

Here's a live interview with a crew member while the captain is "being held hostage."

Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter - CNN.com

So what we have here is a bunch of armed pirates who board the ship, sinking their boat in the process, then leave of their own volition with the ship's captain on a life boat, conveniently enough, before the authorities arrive and the life boat is spotted, apparently empty, adrift in the ocean.... I smell bs. It seems more likely to me that one of them tossed the captain overboard and they made the whole thing up. Am I just being cynical?

I think what we have here is a case of mutiny. Perhaps they thought they could mutineer the ship, get away with the cargo, and blame it on pirates?

You're joking, right? :rofl

 

[BulletWounD]

You're joking, right? :rofl

Nope. We have no evidence to corroborate their story and occam's razor cuts this one to shreds. We should be investigating these people.

 

[WillRockwell]

I don't see the part about the lifeboat drifting empty

 

[BulletWounD]

I don't see the part about the lifeboat drifting empty

At 7 p.m. ET, a Navy P-3 aircraft flying over the scene spotted a lifeboat, a senior U.S. Navy official said.

Obviously, they didn't recover the captain or mention any pirates so apparently it was empty.

 

[bhkad]

Nope. We have no evidence to corroborate their story and occam's razor cuts this one to shreds. We should be investigating these people.

One of the things I've seen online is that those with a dearth of life experience and first hand knowledge of how things work will look at a real life situation as a textbook situation or even as a book of Sci Fi or fairy tales where any one tale is just as believable as any other tale.

In reality the likelihood of mutiny is so far down the scale of probability as to be considered only in jest.

Mutiny aboard a U.S. flagged merchant vessel in this day and age goes against every tradition, regulation and instinct. It is the stuff of novels, if not novellas.

The last US mutiny was in 1970, during Vietnam, when two merchant seamen opposed the war and used handguns and the ship's cargo of bombs to convince the Capt and crew to sail to Cambodia.

In Somalia there is no war, the Maersk Alabama is delivering food and humanitarian aid, there are no handguns aboard, the crew is all American.

I can see a mutiny as a movie plot line but there is a LOT more evidence needed before mutiny could be seriously considered here.

A LOT.

 

[BulletWounD]

One of the things I've seen online is that those with a dearth of life experience and first hand knowledge of how things work will look at a real life situation as a textbook situation or even as a book of Sci Fi or fairy tales where any one tale is just as believable as any other tale.

In reality the likelihood of mutiny is so far down the scale of probability as to be considered only in jest.

Mutiny aboard a U.S. flagged merchant vessel in this day and age goes against every tradition, regulation and instinct. It is the stuff of novels, if not novellas.

The last US mutiny was in 1970, during Vietnam, when two merchant seamen opposed the war and used handguns and the ship's cargo of bombs to convince the Capt and crew to sail to Cambodia.

In Somalia there is no war, the Maersk Alabama is delivering food and humanitarian aid, there are no handguns aboard, the crew is all American.

I can see a mutiny as a movie plot line but there is a LOT more evidence needed before mutiny could be seriously considered here.

A LOT.

Exactly why we should be investigating their story. When was the last time an American ship was taken by pirates? When was the last time a crew member was taken off of a ship as a hostage by pirates?

Their story is so implausible it's ridiculous.

1. Pirates trail ship
2. Pirates board ship, somehow sinking their own boat.
3. The crew hides in an equipment room, the captain stays outside alone "to allow himself to be taken hostage."
4. They somehow subdue one of the armed pirates without any weapons.
5. The remaining pirates, for some reason, get on a life boat with the captain.
6. The crew gives the pirate back to his cohorts, without getting back the captain.
7. The pirates let out a giant "Arrrrgh" and drive off into the wild blue yonder.
8. The life boat is spotted, empty, by a surveillance aircraft.

Listen to the audio, you can tell he's bull****ting and when he starts to slip up someone in the background tells him to get off the phone.

 

[kaya'08]

omg i put sheep in the title