Hijacking of vessels off the Somalian coast has become increasinly scary and I think it's time for something to be done about this. Should ships carry arms and securities onboard for protection from these pirates? Maybe yes because there has to be a way to either decrease this or put an end to this growing international concern. Once again a vessel carrying about twenty U.S nationals have been hijacked by pirates a statement from the company that owns the vessel. The vessel was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was attacked about 310 miles (500 kilometers) off Somalia's. U.S. government sources said the attack happened at about 7:30 a.m. local time. The nearest U.S. Navy warship was about 300 nautical miles, or 345 miles, away at the time, they said. The U.S. Navy issued another notice Tuesday warning mariners that the Somali piracy activity was extending hundreds of miles offshore. A Maersk subsidiary in Norfolk, Virginia, owns and operates the cargo ship, Maersk spokesman Michael Storgaard said. He would not provide any details about the security arrangements on board the Maersk Alabama." We have very strict policies on the vessel. ... Crews are trained to handle these types of situations," Storgaard said from Maersk's headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also said the company is in the process of contacting the crew members' relatives and setting up assistance for them.
"That is at this moment our primary concern," Storgaard said. No action has been taken so far against the pirates, according to a spokesman for the U.S. military's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. "There is a task force present in the region to deter any type of piracy, but the challenge remains that the area is so big and it is hard to monitor all the time," 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said.He also said U.S.-flagged ships are not usually escorted by the military unless they request it from the U.S. Navy. Despite increased naval presence in the region, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack. The scope and magnitude of the problem cannot be understated," according to a Navy news release. According to sources this is the sixth attack in a week. Wjhat in the world is goingon ? I just hope the U.S navy can do something rapidly before things gets out of control on vessel putting the lives of those crew members in greater danger of getting killed.
"That is at this moment our primary concern," Storgaard said. No action has been taken so far against the pirates, according to a spokesman for the U.S. military's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. "There is a task force present in the region to deter any type of piracy, but the challenge remains that the area is so big and it is hard to monitor all the time," 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said.He also said U.S.-flagged ships are not usually escorted by the military unless they request it from the U.S. Navy. Despite increased naval presence in the region, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack. The scope and magnitude of the problem cannot be understated," according to a Navy news release. According to sources this is the sixth attack in a week. Wjhat in the world is goingon ? I just hope the U.S navy can do something rapidly before things gets out of control on vessel putting the lives of those crew members in greater danger of getting killed.
The problem is trully a huge one. The issue is that these waters cover a large area....even bigger than most countries....reports say that even if the US is to diploy all its 200-300 fleets able to navigate such water bodies, it is still not enough to guard the entire Indian Ocean. its going to take a while but these criminals will be apprehended. I like the fact that the NATO countries and the UN is involved. There days are numbered....
ReplyDeleteThis story was very moving. So far, thanks to the media, we have seen two unlikely heroes in the past couple of months. The pilot of that airplane that landed in the Hudson and this captain are both heroes in their own right. They both were humble and both would have given their lives for each of their crewmembers. But the bigger picture is why are these Somali’s pirating? This vessel was on its way to deliver relief aid (food and medicine) to Kenya. Why would the Somali’s attempt to steal aid that was meant to help people. We live in dangerous times. Even when you want to help people, there are people quick to deal you a blow and for what reason. I know that Somali is one of the poorest thirld-world countries in that part of the world. Perhaps the US should look into seeing what it could do to help them so that we can stop the pirates from doing this again.
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