Thai Fishing Trawler Attacked By Somali Pirates

[webfact]

Thai Fishing Trawler Attacked by Somali Pirates

The Thai Navy's anti piracy fleet has set sail to the Gulf of Aeden to help a Thai fishing trawler operating off the Yemeni coast after it was hijacked by Somali pirates.

The Navy Operation Center earlier received a report that the Yemen registered FV Sirichai Nava 11 fishing trawler was hijacked by Somali pirates, 15 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast.

The boat is owned by the Sirichai Ekawat Fisheries Company, based in Yemen.

The Thai Navy's patrol fleet partaking in the anti piracy mission was 360 nautical miles, or 650 kilometers, away from the trawler when it was seized.

The pirates then escorted the hijacked boat towards the Somali coast.

The fleet was able to intercept and counter-attacked the pirates.

A total of 23 crewmen were rescued from the sunken ship. Seven of the eight Thai crew, 15 Cambodians and one of the five Yemeni police were rescued from the water while others remain missing.

The rescued crew told naval officers that ten armed Somali pirates approached their fishing trawler on speed boats before eight pirates gained control of the ship while two others sped away on the boat.

The trawler was then hit and sunk by gunfire from another boat of an unknown nationality before the Thai rescue fleet found them at 10 A.M. Thai time.

All the rescued crew have been transferred to the HTMS Similan.

-- Tan Network 2010-11-05

[jonclark]

So who sunk the ship?? Seems something is missing here from the story.

[brahmburgers]

It sounds as though the 8 Somali pirates who boarded the ship were killed - as there's no mention of them surviving. To answer the Q above: It was a fleet of Thai Navy boats which attacked the pirated ship and liberated those that weren't killed in the skirmish. The Thai ship sunk.

Many Somali pirates are little more than teenagers. Young age doesn't excuse their illegal behavior, but it says a lot about the abysmal influences of older men in those parts.

[ding]

Hard to have any sympathy for these Somali asshats. Light em up.

[Jimi007]

So who sunk the ship?? Seems something is missing here from the story.

I have to agree with you, it is yet another article that was terribly written. Are they writing it Thai and using a translator program or what? I guess Brahmburgers can somehow read it and fill in the blanks. The boat was registered in Yemen, but I guess, as he did it was somehow owned and staffed by Thais and Burmese. What has happened to a decent report of the encounter? Lost in translation??? At least this time the pirates weren't just released again...

Edited November 5, 2010 by Jimi007

[Buchholz]

It sounds as though the 8 Somali pirates who boarded the ship were killed - as there's no mention of them surviving. To answer the Q above: It was a fleet of Thai Navy boats which attacked the pirated ship and liberated those that weren't killed in the skirmish. The Thai ship sunk.

According to the other paper who quoted survivors, the 8 Somali pirates were apparently not killed, but the crew did not know what happened to them. I would presume by this that the crew had been held below decks on the fishing ship when it was attacked and sunk by a separate unknown boat.

Additionally, apparently there was no "counter-attack of the pirates" as reported in the OP, but after the fishing ship was sunk, His Thai Majesty Ship Pattani arrived on the scene and rescued the 23 from the sea.

It's not unusual for differing reports to get published regarding naval warfare.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

Successful pirate attacks off Somalia on the rise, U.N. says

Even as the overall number of pirate attacks off Somalia’s coast has declined in the past year, the rate of successful vessel hijackings is on the rise, according to a new United Nations report. “The trend of the increased levels of violence employed by the pirates, as well as their expanding reach is disconcerting,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his latest Security Council report on piracy.

International Maritime Organization data show that in the first nine months of 2010, there were 164 attacks against ships in the waters off the coast of Somalia, 37 of which resulted in hijackings. Twenty five of those hijackings took place in the western Indian Ocean. During the same period in 2009, there were 193 reported attacks and 33 ships hijacked. The increased military presence in the Gulf of Aden has helped to reduce the number of attacks, according to the U.N. But instead of giving up, the pirates have simply stretched their reach and headed for deeper water.

“Tightened surveillance and control in the Gulf of Aden has forced the Somali pirates to expand their operations well into the Indian Ocean to more than 1,000 nautical miles off the Somali coast,” the U.N. report stated. “This eastward and southward shift in piracy has brought a much greater maritime area under threat.”

Continues:

http://www.stripes.com/news/africa/successful-pirate-attacks-off-somalia-on-the-rise-u-n-says-1.124273?localLinksEnabled=false

Stars and Stripes - November 4, 2010

[surangw]

I wonder if the boat was insured?

[Spee]

Story seems to indicate one of the Thai crew members was mia or kia (7 of 8 rescued). Hopefully not. Possibly someone could clarify.

I wish the international militaries patrolling these waters would take a unified more aggressive stance toward these parasites.

[Buchholz]

this doesn't help matters...

Kenya acquits 17 suspected Somali pirates

MOMBASA, Kenya — Seventeen Somalis walked free from a Kenyan court Friday after becoming the first defendants to be acquitted since Nairobi signed a deal with Western states to try suspected pirates. The men were arrested in the Gulf of Aden in a joint operation by US and South Korean navies on May 13, 2009 as they tried to attack an Egyptian vessel, the MV Amira.

"The prosecution has not proved its case against the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt as required by law," said Magistrate Michael Kizito at a court in Kenya's Mombasa coastal city. "Consequently, I find that the accused persons are not guilty of the offence with which they were charged and acquit them," added Kizito.

The magistrate did not say whether the suspects would be deported to Somalia. They denied the charges of attacking the MV Amira and putting the lives of its crew in danger. The prosecution had brought in nine witnesses.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2 hours ago

[Buchholz]

Story seems to indicate one of the Thai crew members was mia or kia (7 of 8 rescued). Hopefully not. Possibly someone could clarify.

Yes, both news sources report 1 Thai and 4 Yemeni missing. I would presume they are deceased.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Buchholz

[hanuman1]

Story seems to indicate one of the Thai crew members was mia or kia (7 of 8 rescued). Hopefully not. Possibly someone could clarify.

I wish the international militaries patrolling these waters would take a unified more aggressive stance toward these parasites.

I would have thought that the easiest place to get hold of pirates would actually be on land.

I can't remember the name of the place, but there was a BBC report about a year ago that identified a Somali coastal town as being 'pirate city', where all the planning and logistics of their operations was arranged and where many of them lived and drove around in incongruously expensive cars. I don't know who's in charge of Somalia right now, but we have seen over the past couple of decades that nowhere in the world is immune from international pressure of various kinds, so why not focus on the epicenter of the problem?

The fact that these hijackings may be sponsored from rather lofty international business and/or government circles may have something to do with it.

Edited November 5, 2010 by hanuman1

[Buchholz]

Scenes of the life-saving rescue at sea by the Royal Thai Navy.

A hearty Well Done again, guys.

Khao Sod newspaper (article in Thai):

http://www.khaosod.co.th/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRJNE9EazBOREEzTVE9PQ==&catid=0101

*edited to add: From experience, you guys need to secure that oxygen tank. On a ship at sea, it is not a good idea to set the tank up on end without it being securely fastened down.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Buchholz

[Richard W]

I don't know who's in charge of Somalia right now, but we have seen over the past couple of decades that nowhere in the world is immune from international pressure of various kinds, so why not focus on the epicenter of the problem?

Somalia is a geographical expression, not a political entity.

According to Wikipedia, at least one of the governments in Somalia has been suppressing piracy.

[asiawatcher]

Piracy is inexcusable and now that these guys are becoming more brazen it almost warrants open conflict on any boat carrying arms and in open waters with a bunch of men. But the loss of a vessel and now lives, the actions needs to be positive and extreme. Not just for the luckless Thai people but for all. It needs to send a message.

[rreddin]

Story seems to indicate one of the Thai crew members was mia or kia (7 of 8 rescued). Hopefully not. Possibly someone could clarify.

I wish the international militaries patrolling these waters would take a unified more aggressive stance toward these parasites.

I would have thought that the easiest place to get hold of pirates would actually be on land.

I can't remember the name of the place, but there was a BBC report about a year ago that identified a Somali coastal town as being 'pirate city', where all the planning and logistics of their operations was arranged and where many of them lived and drove around in incongruously expensive cars. I don't know who's in charge of Somalia right now, but we have seen over the past couple of decades that nowhere in the world is immune from international pressure of various kinds, so why not focus on the epicenter of the problem?

The fact that these hijackings may be sponsored from rather lofty international business and/or government circles may have something to do with it.

Nobody is in control in Somalia. There has not been an effective government in that country for years. That is the problem.

[uncletom]

Scenes of the life-saving rescue at sea by the Royal Thai Navy.

A hearty Well Done again, guys.

Khao Sod newspaper (article in Thai):

http://www.khaosod.co.th/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRJNE9EazBOREEzTVE9PQ==&catid=0101

*edited to add: From experience, you guys need to secure that oxygen tank. On a ship at sea, it is not a good idea to set the tank up on end without it being securely fastened down.

Burmese Slave workers who will just get returned back to a new boat an new captain to be slaves once again.

uncletom

[Buchholz]

Scenes of the life-saving rescue at sea by the Royal Thai Navy.

A hearty Well Done again, guys.

Burmese Slave workers who will just get returned back to a new boat an new captain to be slaves once again.

Besides there not being any "Burmese slave workers" onboard, getting devoured alive by sharks is hard to beat in terms of undesirability.

[Sept]

How about little perspective, and a touch of reality?

Johann Hari: You are being lied to about pirates

(...)In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence".

[siampolee]

What is to my mind a somewhat perplexing matter is the fact that assorted countries can terrorise and destroy a nation like Iraq, Those actions being based upon a pack of lies, yet those same countries cannot drop into Somalia and crush the whole piratical scene.

Would this inaction be due to a presumed lack of mineral deposits, solid , liquid or vaporous types, or is it possibly the truth that there is no profit in a short term conflict for the arms manufacturers. ?

[Richard W]

Would this inaction be due to a presumed lack of mineral deposits, solid , liquid or vaporous types, or is it possibly the truth that there is no profit in a short term conflict for the arms manufacturers. ?

Or due to the Americans getting chased out of Somalia a few years ago? Also, we don't deliberately do punitive raids on the general population nowadays.

[tomyummer]

Piracy is inexcusable and now that these guys are becoming more brazen it almost warrants open conflict on any boat carrying arms and in open waters with a bunch of men. But the loss of a vessel and now lives, the actions needs to be positive and extreme. Not just for the luckless Thai people but for all. It needs to send a message.

Those Somali pirates should turn to pirating DVD movies and software instead, like our Panthip Pirates. Less violent and apparently very excusable.