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Subject: Piracy.
gf0012-aust    5/3/2009 4:45:28 PM
I thought I'd start one here to get away from the heat in the other threads on this subject
 
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gf0012-aust    Darwin award candidates   5/3/2009 4:47:49 PM
Compliments of auntie.  Go the French!  


French navy grabs Somali pirates

By Africa Correspondent Andrew Geoghegan

Posted 39 minutes ago

The French navy has captured 11 pirates off the coast of Somalia as part of a European Union operation to protect shipping around the Horn of Africa.

It is believed the pirates mistook a French frigate for a commercial ship and attempted to seize it about 1,000 kilometres off the Somali coast.

Two pirate assault boats approached the frigate Nivose at high speed, but they were intercepted by a French naval helicopter which fired warning shots.

The pirates have been taken in by the French for questioning.

The Nivose has succeeded in apprehending 24 suspected pirates in the past three weeks as part of a European Union operation designed to eliminate the threat piracy poses to commercial shipping off Somalia.

At least 18 commercial ships are being held for ransom by Somali pirates.

Naval forces from the United States, Europe and Asia have been deployed to protect merchant ships.
 
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DarthAmerica       5/10/2009 1:55:00 AM
I would have loved to see the look on their faces when they saw the Helo. Especially if they could see it coming off of the deck...lol. I hope they don't get let go as has been the result all too often.

-DA 
 
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StevoJH       5/10/2009 12:19:49 PM
How do you mix up a frigate with a commercial ship?
 
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bartrat    Q-ship sort of   5/10/2009 1:55:38 PM
From a distance some (not all) military ships can look like a civilian ship (a new one that is).
The warship wound up being a Q-Ship.
 
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gf0012-aust       5/10/2009 6:46:16 PM
Plus the French driver was smart enough to turn stern on away from the sun....
 
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Volkodav       5/11/2009 2:23:06 AM
Q-ships would be one way to deal with the piracy problem. Has anyone though about some sort of "Sea Marshal" system, where section strength detachments of marines are randomly deployed on merchantmen travelling through that region. It could be a UN initiative with the marines being supplied from several different nations.
 
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gf0012-aust       5/18/2009 4:26:13 AM

Australian warships prevent pirate attack

Article from: AAP

link background-position: 364px 50%; ">

TWO Australian warships have rushed to the aid of a freighter under attack in the Gulf of Aden from pirates firing rocket propelled grenades and attempting to board the vessel by force.

HMAS Sydney and HMAS Ballarat responded to a distress call from the merchant vessel, MV Dubai Princess, at about 6pm (AEST) yesterday.

Upon receiving the distress call, the Sydney closed in on the merchant vessel and launched a helicopter to assess the situation, while the Ballarat went to action stations.

As the situation developed, another merchant vessel, MV MSC Stella, was also harassed by small vessels in the same area.

The head of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said the measured response by the two Australian ships provided security to the merchant vessels and stabilised the situation.

"Sydney closed in on the merchant vessel and launched her embarked Sea Hawk helicopter to gain an appraisal of the situation," Air Chief Marshal Houston said in a statement.

"About the same time, Ballarat went to action stations and joined the response. She was instrumental in supporting MV MSC Stella."

The pirates fled the area after the two frigates and the helicopter appeared. The action is believed to have taken place about 170km south of Yemen.

"It appears the situation de-escalated once Sydney and Ballaratasserted their presence at the scene and from the reports we have, no injuries were suffered by merchant sailors."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the situation was handled with confidence by the crews of the Sydney and Ballarat. 

"Their actions were swift and decisive and have contributed to international counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden," he said.

HMAS Ballarat escorted the two merchant vessels, plus six others that subsequently entered the area, to safety once the threat had eased.

HMAS Sydney remained in the area for a number of hours to report the situation to a ship from the US-led Task Force 151 which is conducting anti-piracy operations.

Sydney and Ballarat have now resumed their passage through the Gulf and will continue with their deployment program.
 
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Volkodav       5/19/2009 6:35:59 AM
This would be the perfect assignment for one of the RAN's proposed offshore combatants.
 
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Aussiegunneragain       5/19/2009 8:14:19 AM
I wonder if they would consider embarking one of the Aussie Tigers on the HMAS Sydney or one of the other FFG's in the Gulf? They have two spots and the Tiger would be a much better choice than the second Seahawk IMHO as it would be far less vulnerable during the initial armed recon and is far better armed. Would they need to make any mods to the Tigers to do this?
 
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gf0012-aust       5/23/2009 1:12:59 AM
they'd need to be marinised or they'd start to get a bit wobbly after a few days at sea.

as it is, the Tiger project is another red-faced problem child.   
 
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gf0012-aust       5/23/2009 1:15:12 AM

Pensioners on MSC Melody fought off pirates

May 23, 2009 05:44am

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FEISTY pensioners from Britain used deck chairs to fight off Somali pirates who tried to hijack their cruise ship on the Indian Ocean, passengers and the vessel's owners say.

 They sprang into action when pirates tried to board the MSC Melody off the Seychelles on April 25. 

"Some passengers saw the pirates approaching and sounded the alarm. But the security guard had seen them already. The passengers were taken to their cabins, with lights off," Sarah Longbottom of MSC Cruises said.

"Mr and Mrs Rowlands were on the deck. Beryl Rowlands threw deck chairs at them," she said, adding that the ship had about 1000 passengers and 500 crew on board.

There were 74 Australians on the ship at the time.

No-one was injured in the incident, which came amid a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where ransom-seeking pirates attacked more than 100 ship in 2008 and another 114 so far this year.

The owner of MSC Cruises, Gianluigi Aponte, praised the way the ship's crew and passengers dealt with the attack. "We are very proud that our crew proved to be able to promptly tackle the emergency," he said.

"At the moment of the attack, the ship was 600 nautical miles (1111 km) from the Somalian coast, in an area that is not considered dangerous, and 180 nautical miles (333 km) from Seychelles." 

Ian and Jessie Moakes from Mansfield, central England, were on the MSC Melody to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

"Some holidaymakers threw tables and chairs to repel the pirates," Moakes, 62, a retired police officer, told the Sunnewspaper.

"It could have been much nastier. There were bullet holes in the ship." 

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 69 passengers and five crew members were Australians, some of whom may be dual citizens and travelling on other passports. 
 
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AMTP10F       5/23/2009 9:19:02 PM

they'd need to be marinised or they'd start to get a bit wobbly after a few days at sea.

as it is, the Tiger project is another red-faced problem child.   
As is the MRH-90...
 
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BLUIE006       5/24/2009 3:19:23 AM
1. It is only a matter of time before a terror group conducts a major maritime piracy operation. Until now they have been relatively rare, part of the reason for this, is the challenges posed by the maritime environment i.e.: Tides, currents, wind, sea state, visibility, cover, surveillance and proximity to land. 
   However the relative success of the Somali pirates; surely must trigger some ambitions in the minds of Terror leaders; especially when considering that suicide terror operations (capture and destroy), would pose less challenges than traditional piracy operations (capture /hold & loot/ransom).

 2. Also when you look at his past patterns prior & post 9-11, it is feasible that Bin Laden has returned to relative calm of Africa and is the puppet master behind some!!! of these attacks, rather than hiding in the generally accepted, Pakistani & Afghan border region which would be dangerous for him. Baring in mind that Somalia has; a large Sunni Muslim population; lacks effective national governance; and, the economic conditions are ideal for terrorism recruitment.

 3. It is also a remote possibility that the increased frequency of piracy operations is a form of penetration testing; response analysis or some sort of diversionary campaign and the pirate interviews/statments, ransom demands and media manipulation etc is part of an associated Al-Qaeda disinformation campaign. 
   Remembering that pre 9-11 Al-Qaeda successfully conducted a Psy-op/disinformation campaigns, that lead US Intelligence into believing that the next attack would be on overseas interests, not domestic soil. Perhaps they are trying something similar here, tying up maritime forces off the coast of Africa; wanting western liberal democracies to think this is the likely target area, when the real attack is going to be in Straights of Malacca or Mediterranean.

 Worth a look?.IMHO!

 
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BLUIE006       5/31/2009 8:51:02 AM
Since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia earlier this year, al Shabab has taken control of important towns inland and along the coast, including the port towns of Kismayo and Marka. The group has also reportedly entered into financial arrangements with pirates operating from port cities under al Shabab's control.
 
****
To this day, al Shabab's leadership is closely linked to al Qaeda. Many in the current leadership cadre are graduates of al Qaeda training camps. Al Shabab leader Ibrahim Haji Jama trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan (his nom de guerre in Somalia is al-Afghani). Another leader, Abu Taha al-Sudani, known also as Tariq Abdullah, was al Qaeda's leader in East Africa and is believed to be the main financier of its African operations.
Veteran al Qaeda terrorists help make up al Shabab's ranks.
*****
Bin Laden himself has described al-Shabab as "one of the most important armies in the Mujahid Islamic battalion." And in a recording last February, bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, devoted the bulk of his message to praising al Shabab in Somalia, calling their recent activities "a step on the path of the victory of Islam."
 
 
 
Wall Street Journal
 
Hmmm... ( what's that thing you turn on, before you turn a corner)
 
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Aussie Diggermark 2       5/31/2009 10:18:59 AM

I wonder if they would consider embarking one of the Aussie Tigers on the HMAS Sydney or one of the other FFG's in the Gulf? They have two spots and the Tiger would be a much better choice than the second Seahawk IMHO as it would be far less vulnerable during the initial armed recon and is far better armed. Would they need to make any mods to the Tigers to do this?

Modding the Seahawks to carry and employ Hellfire/DAGR would be easier than modding the Tigers for sustained maritime ops.
 
Plus they're in-service, RAN pilots are trained and comfortable with ops from RAN frigate flightdecks etc.
 
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