Where is the UN?

davidk14: .

Crew of Danish ship missing after pirate attack
Published January 14, 2011
| Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya – With the attack on the MV Leopard and the hijacking of its crew, Somali pirates currently hold 28 vessels and about 660 sailors and other crew hostage.

NATO's anti-piracy force has found no crew members or pirates onboard a Danish cargo ship that Somali pirates hijacked and then abandoned, officials said Friday.

The MV Leopard was attacked on Wednesday by pirates in two skiffs but since then the ship's owner, Shipcraft shipping company, has lost contact with its crew of six, said the company's managing director, Claus Bech, in a statement Friday.

Turkish warship TCG Gaziantep, the vessel nearest where the attack took place in the Arabian Sea, went to investigate Thursday, said Jacqui Sherriff, spokesman for NATO's anti-piracy force.

The Turkish warship sent a helicopter which overflew the ship, "and after some time it became apparent they couldn't see anyone onboard," Sherriff told The Associated Press on Friday. Sailors from the Gaziantep then boarded the MV Leopard and thoroughly searched the cargo ship but did not find any pirates or crew, she said.

The Gaziantep is currently watching the MV Leopard, which is about 500 miles from Oman's port of Salalah, Sherriff said.

Bech said Shipcraft is in touch with "relevant authorities" to ensure the safe return of the crew — four Filipinos and two Danes. He said there's no "reliable information" about their whereabouts.

With the attack on the MV Leopard and the hijacking of its crew, Somali pirates currently hold 28 vessels and about 660 sailors and other crew hostage.

Somali pirates attack vessels because of the multimillion dollar ransoms they are able to get. Piracy thrives because of Somalia's lawlessness and its coastline runs along some of the world's key waterways such as the Gulf of Aden through which an estimated 20,000 ships pass. Many of these also pass through the Arabian Sea.

Somalia has not had an effective central government for 20 years nor does it have a naval force that can tackle piracy off its coast. The ransoms the pirates get are among the few regular sources of income for small businesses that supply the pirate’s food and other goods.
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Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this report.

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flashie:

those somali pirates must be so desperate

franklin1950: ?????? united nations ??????

FogofWar: Where is the United Nations? We were there; Somalia blew it; and the world abandoned them. THey got what they asked for.

As far as the pirates go; what would you expect the UN to do? They can't even follow through with their threats; and when they do; they throw peacekeepers at it to stand and watch without stopping it. The UN can't do anything because the UN is incapable of doing anything.

davidk14: .

Boys and Girls,

Some think that Somalia is going to be a real big problem real soon, sooner than we think. These ”pirates” are terrorists with ties to al Quada and other ‘anti-western’ types. For years, they have attacked and taken control of numerous ships and have taken away liberty from the people they have kidnapped and those 600 they currently are holding as hostages.

They have already extorted hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars from companies. These “pirates” no…these terrorists have kidnapped and are currently holding over 600 sailors from nations from all over the world and are holding them ransom as well as 28 ships and cargo.

These terrorists have purchased lots of arms with this cash. There is no government as we understand it. It’s more of a ‘gang’ mentality. Sure there is a UN propped up government there but it only covers a few square blocks, perhaps a little bit more. Depends on the day. The rest of the country is in the hands of the terrorist gangs.

When and if we ever need to go there on the ground, we better be "willing" to send in a million soldiers. I said "willing" as in a 100% commitment to success and victory. That’s the easy part.

Then what? Do we again country build? Again? Damn!

Let someone else do it this time…PLEASE?

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FogofWar: "When and if we ever need to go there on the ground, we better be "willing" to send in a million soldiers. I said "willing" as in a 100% commitment to success and victory. That’s the easy part"

That's not the easy part at all. In fact; that is one of the most difficult things to do. We couldn't even get our government's to commit 100% to Afghanistan...and the people there actually attacked US soil. What makes you think we could gain 100% political support to go into Somalia? Especially when you consider the amount of force required to succeed there.

George S. Patton firmly believed; as what was said by Carl von Clausewitz, that It is far better to commit 100% to the wrong strategy; than to hesitate and allow your enemy to seize the momentum. If you are not 100% committed to a war; then you are in jeopardy of losing all.

But with our inability to work together politically in our own countries; makes it virtually impossible to agree on military campaigns; and so; unless an all out war is declared; like WWII or the Korean War; we will never achieve this.

chronology: David. Being at sea can be dangerous anywhere if you are incautious. If am not mistaken, the far east is still the most dangerous place for Pirates. The ships are particularly at risk when they sail up long, deep winding rivers. The opportunities for Pirates to jump aboard with guns brandished is obvious. Around 150, maybe more ships 'vanish' every year, (depends on what you call a 'ship'. Although there is always the sneaky feeling in the shipping Office that they have been ripped off. It is a little like when your car vanishes in Phoenix and is in a Mexican Chop Shop a few hours later. Your car is stripped and resprayed, GPS Tracking removed, and hey presto, you have another car. The same thing happens to ships.

davidk14: .

Chrono,

You obviouly didn't read my post. Somalia and Mexican car chop shops???

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FogofWar: Perhaps if the world is not ready and willing to commit to Somalia (which I sincerely doubt it is); then a smaller scale operation can be put into affect. Special Operations units are specifically trained for counter-insurgency nowadays...and they are more than effective at removing threats within civilian ranks.

Perhaps we should get together and create policing forces to escort vessels. Small units of Spec Ops, or specially trained policing forces; to ride along random vessels travelling through these waters. In the event the pirates try and board; if they hit a ship with these forces on...well.....they're in for one hell of a shock.

davidk14: .


Fog,

First we need to free the 600+ sailors that have been kidnapped and are being held as hostages and if at all possible, retrieve the 28+ ships they have hijacked.

Special ops would be needed but the 600 hostages are probably spread out real thin all over Somalia. Very difficult operations especially since many of the hostages are probably being held by Al Qaida and radical fundamental Islamic operatives.

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FogofWar: very risky, as many people would rather save the extra buck on their taxes than help those 600 people....yet those people have the balls to call our government's corrupt and greedy. Look who's talking!