Somali pirates hijack American yacht on decade-long round-the-world trip

2011-02-19 19:45:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- Somali pirates on Friday hijacked a sailing yacht carrying four American tourists, two of whom are on a decade-long "around-the-world" trip, according to piracy watchdog Ecoterra International.

Ecoterra, which is run by volunteers from in and outside Somalia, said the S/V Quest was seized on Friday afternoon about 240 nautical miles (444 kilometers) off the coast of Oman. "[sailing yacht] Quest was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean and the four Americans on board are being held hostage," the watchdog said.

According to the S/V Quest's website, www.svquest.com, the owners of the vessel are on an "around-the-world" trip that began in mid-December 2004. "This is planned to be an eight or ten year voyage," the website's homepage said, which identifies the owners as Scott Underwood Adam and Jean Savage Adam.

"The sailing yacht was reportedly now en route from India to Mina Raysut, the industrial port of Salalah, Oman," Ecoterra said. The last update on Sunday said the yacht was in Mumbai. "All is well on Quest," the couple wrote.

The European Union Naval Force - Somalia (EUNAVFOR) was not immediately able to confirm that the S/V Quest had been hijacked by pirates. Ecoterra has blamed EUNAVFOR for mostly only monitoring high-value vessels.

"Currently many yachts are waiting for a safe opportunity to do the passage from the Indian Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea through the Gulf of Aden, termed now the pirate alley, because the navies have persistently refused to safeguard or escort these ships," Ecoterra said.

Meanwhile, also on Friday, EUNAVFOR confirmed that the Yemeni fishing vessel Alfardous was seized by Somali pirates on Sunday. "The vessel has a reported crew of 8, nationalities presently not known," a spokesperson said. "There is no further information on the condition of the crew."

With the hijackings of the Alfardous and the Quest included, Somali pirates are currently holding at least 32 vessels and 698 hostages off the coast of Somalia, according to EUNAVFOR. Ecoterra, however, claims that pirates are holding at least 51 vessels and 819 hostages.

Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months. The longest current hijacking, according to EUNAVFOR, is the Panama-flagged MV Iceberg 1 which was hijacked on March 29, 2010 with 24 crew members.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-02-19

..well, we can now question ourselves now HOW MUCH the ransom will be to free the four Americans...

Maybe it would have been cheaper to grant protection for the fleet of 30 yachts (debated elsewhere in Thailand News, see link*), in combination with guarding commercial vessels, rather than the now high ransom to be paid if they're not freed by the US Navy or EUNAVFOR -European Union Naval Force :

* http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4229369

What about if more yachts are (to be) hijacked by the pirates.....or more fishing boats, like the Yemeni and Thai fishing vessels? How high would the ransoms have to be to pay to these criminals before the world realizes that they have to be stopped and whiped off the Earth ?

Two of the three Thai fishing boats, captured LAST YEAR APRIL 2010 are STILL held by the pirates and used as Mother ships, carrying many small teams of flexible boats, looking for another prey, whether a huge 333 m/1.000 ft tanker or private yacht; they don't give sh_t who they take as long as it brings money*

Thailand didn't pay a single Baht to free those ships and crew and as far as I know, (I havent read anything) the Government didn't even tried...

As far as I am concerned it's all about money and the lives of human beings.

WHO CARES?

* In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.

LaoPo

Edited February 19, 201115 yr by LaoPo

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Edited February 19, 201115 yr by Hawaiian

Somali pirates hijack U.S. yacht S/V Quest

Saturday, 19.Feb.2011, 02:37 (GMT+2)

S/V Quest, reported hijacked by Somali pirates Friday, had four Americans aboard, reportedly including owners Jean and Scott Adam, who were sailing around the world.

S/V Quest, reported hijacked by Somali pirates Friday, had four Americans aboard, reportedly including owners Jean and Scott Adam, who were sailing around the world.

Somali pirates hijacked a yacht with four Americans on board Friday afternoon in the Indian Ocean, officials said.

Omar Jamal, first secretary at the Somali mission, identified the yacht as the S/V Quest.

He said Friday that the mission is calling for the immediate release of the hostages and all other captives who are in the hands of the pirates.

The Friday hijacking was first reported by Ecoterra International, which monitors regional maritime activity, according to the French news agency AFP. Ecoterra said the S/V Quest was seized 240 nautical miles (275 miles) off the coast of Oman.

Somali pirates hijack U.S. yacht

"S/V Quest was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean and the four Americans on board are being held hostage," AFP quoted Ecoterra as saying. "The sailing yacht was reportedly now en route from India to Mina Raysut, the industrial port of Salalah, Oman," Ecoterra added.

The S/V Quest's owners, Jean and Scott Adam, are seven years into their round-the-world journey from California, said gCaptain, a maritime website.

A December update on the SV/Quest website tells what their travel plans would be for 2011.

Continues:

http://www.seanews.c...Quest-hijacked/

LaoPo

Edited February 19, 201115 yr by LaoPo

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Maybe you don't realize it but the coastline of Somalia is more than 3.000 km long.....THREE THOUSAND !!

To give you an idea: that's the distance between Malmo/Sweden and Malaga in Southern Spain...!! or from NY City to Clovis New Mexico....or from Melbourne/Australia to Cairns/Queensland and than you;re still not there...

In a country with a mere 9.3 million low educated and dead poor people without a government; it's absolutely lawless with no political parties and no leaders; there's no government in place; there's no legal national system in place.

They're trying now to form a government but the situation is enormously complex and the country is in fact ruled by criminals with the latest modern weapons; weapons they buy with ransom money.

Hundreds of millions of ransom money that is!

Personally, I think serious killings (of -western- hostages) will trigger the western world before any action will take place.

I hate to say it but in this case only the rule: an eye for an eye will finally help to settle this situation since the Western, Middle Eastern and Asian world is helpless.

LaoPo

Edited February 19, 201115 yr by LaoPo

Next pirated ship:

Fishing Vessel ALFARDOUS believed pirated in the Gulf of Aden.

February 18, 2011

On the 13 February, the Yemeni Fishing Vessel ALFARDOUS was believed to have been pirated close to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden.

The vessel has a reported crew of 8, nationalities presently not known. There is no further information on the condition of the crew.

EUNAVFOR is monitoring the situation.

There are now at least 31 vessels and 694 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

LIST WILL ALL PIRATED SHIPS - WITH MAP!-: http://www.eunavfor....-18.02.2011.pdf

http://www.eunavfor....e-gulf-of-aden/

Note: the American Yacht isn't even mentioned since they write:

Plus an unknown number of unconfirmed Dhows and smaller vessels.

LaoPo

Somali Pirates Hijack 4 Americans; U.S. Assessing Responses

JASON STRAZIUSO and ABDI GULED 02/19/11 02:42 PM

MOGADISHU, Somalia — An American couple that has sailed the world with a yacht full of Bibles was hijacked by Somali pirates, and the U.S. said Saturday it is assessing possible options.

Pirates say the yacht will make landfall in Somalia on Sunday, which would reduce the chances of a fast rescue dramatically. A British sailing couple hijacked by pirates was held hostage in a stiflingly hot Somali region for more than a year.

Pirates hijacked the yacht Quest on Friday, two days after a Somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a New York court for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. That case ended in a spectacular rescue when Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's captain, Richard Phillips.

The Quest is the home of Jean and Scott Adam, a couple from California who has been sailing around the world since December 2004, according to a website the Adams keep. Two other Americans were also believed to be on board.

The pirates are unlikely to hurt the four Americans because they won't win any ransom money if they do, said Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the head of Dryad Maritime Intelligence. He argued that the pirates would be wise to abandon the yacht because the hijacking threatens their business model, which relies on ransoms from large shipping and insurance companies.

"They risk the collapse of their business model if they change their status quo and the American government deems that they pose an immediate threat to the safety of American citizens," he said. "They've made a mistake and it's in the Somalis' business interest to get off the yacht as soon as possible."

Continues:

http://www.huffingto...s_n_825502.html

LaoPo

Insurers in the City of London are finalising plans to set up a private fleet of armed patrol boats in the Gulf of Aden, in a new drive to stamp out Somali piracy.

The naval protection force was conceived by leading figures in the Lloyd’s of London market. They have been working with ship owners, freight operators and governments for months, marshalling support for their plan.

The goal of the Convoy Escort Programme (CEP) is to provide protection for tankers trying to navigate the seas off war-torn Somalia while also reducing the soaring costs of insuring vessels, cargo and crews against increasingly vicious attacks by pirates.

Key representatives of the shipping industry, including the Baltic and International Maritime Council (Bimco) have agreed to explore the idea further. Giles Noakes, the chief maritime security officer of Bimco, said that he would be briefing American politicians in Washington on the plan next week.

It is understood that the industry-led project is being monitored by the Royal Navy and its counterparts. The Times understands that the Navy would regard the escorts as a trial which, if successful, would allow naval vessels to hunt pirates in other areas. If the fleet can secure funding and win the support of the shipping community, it could be up and running within six months. There are also plans to explore using former Nimrod maritime patrol air crews to provide aerial surveillance.

Success for the venture, which has tried to shun the “private navy” tag, would mark a gear change in international efforts to clamp down on piracy. Despite a successful recent intervention by the Royal Navy, the pirates have escalated their activities sharply in the past fortnight, seizing an oil tanker and its £125 million cargo and killing two of its Filipino crew.

Under the plan, which has been developed over two years, a non-profit association involving private and public sector members would be set up. It would control a fleet of 18 vessels, each with a fixed gun position and an armed crew authorised to engage the pirates in battle.

Each vessel would carry eight armed security personnel and four additional crew as well as inflatable speedboats, known as “Ribs”, which could be dispatched into combat if the tankers they were protecting came under attack.

Although it would be managed separately, the fleet would be under the operational control of the relevant national navy and the crew would have to conform to international rules on combat and engagement.

One of the key architects of the CEP is Sean Woollerson, a partner in the marine, oil and gas division at Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), a leading Lloyd’s broker for companies seeking insurance protection, particularly for war risks and kidnap and ransom. KLT is organising the fleet through BGN Risk, a global security consultancy. Mr Woollerson estimates that the programme would need about $27.5 million (£17 million) to pay for 18 second-hand vessels, believed to be Swedish patrol boats. It is understood that the plan is to try to tap a $200 million anti-piracy fund managed by the EU.

“It has taken an extraordinary amount of hard work and effort over the past two years, but we hope we’re about 70 per cent of the way there,” Mr Woollerson told The Times yesterday.

JLT has been working on the project with insurance underwriters, including at Ascot Underwriting, another leading Lloyd’s insurer.

Mr Woollerson said that the association would draw its members from shipping associations, charterers, oil companies, insurance underwriters, lawyers, governments and navies. With a rotating chairman, expected to be elected from among international ship-owning companies, it would have its own chief executive and management team. In theory, any ship seeking the protection of the fleet on a trip through the Gulf of Aden would be able to do so through her Lloyd’s of London broker, Mr Woollerson said.

^^^^

The plans sounds good and hope they will finally start doing more than they;re doing now.

But, the distances (see map -page 2- in link below**) are SO huge that we can't even comprehend the real distances.

The fact that the Iranian Navy arrested 2 suspected Somali Pirates says something how far away from their base these criminal pirates operate:

Iran arrests pirates in Sea of Oman

Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:29PM

File photo of detained Somali pirates

An Iranian Navy commander says commandoes have captured and detained two suspected Somali pirates near a southeastern port city after the sea bandits hijacked an Iranian fishing boat.

"Navy commandoes at the Chabahar base (a port city on the east coast of the Sea of Oman) began conducting special and reconnaissance missions to arrest pirates after receiving information that an Iranian fishing had been seized," IRIB quoted the Commander of Chabahar Navy Base as saying on Saturday.

The commander, who was identified as Mareshi, said commandoes managed to disarm and board the ship near Pozm -- a port some 52 km (32 miles) west of Chabahar.

"The pirates controlled the ship for 22 days and in that period attempted to hijack five ships in international waters, but failed in all instances," he added, but did not elaborate on where the vessel was attacked and hijacked.

Commandoes confiscated a number of firearms from the pirates.

Mrashi said the pirates were turned over to the police forces of Sistan-Baluchestan Province after a court in the nearby town of Konarak sentenced them to jail.

While the pirates continue to prey on commercial ships sailing the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden and have expanded their zone of operation further into the Indian Ocean.

From: http://www.presstv.i...ail/166069.html

** http://www.eunavfor....-18.02.2011.pdf

on the bottom of page 2 of this link you can see how enormous the distances are in Kilometers and Nautical Miles and the American yacht -S/V Quest- was captured around ship #35 in the Indian Ocean, between India and Oman.

LaoPo

Edited February 20, 201115 yr by LaoPo

COVER STORY

Pirates of the Arabian

The 28 Somali pirates captured by the Indian Navy and Coastguards a couple of weeks ago could make many die-hard pirate fans consign the swashbuckling stereotype to the Davy Jones' Locker, which, in case you're not 'savvy', lies at the bottom of the ocean. There is no sound of 'Ho ho and a bottle of rum' from the lock-up they are huddled together in. Their clamour for food and medicine confound the mythical fearlessness of legends, such as Edward Teach alias Blackbeard, John 'Calico' Rakham or Bartholomew Roberts. Their injuries — in filthy slings and bandages — are too real to remind anyone of the one-legged Long John Silver from R L Stevenson's Treasure Island.

THEY ARE REAL

But the thing that makes the Somali pirates most starkly different to their lionised predecessors — fictional or historical — is the reasons they give for choosing this notorious life. Notoriety was the last thing on Noor's mind considering that he has kept his profession a secret from his wife. "She thinks I'm on a security assignment. I used to be a driver. The civil war finished everything. My employer migrated to Kenya and left me jobless. I took to piracy to feed my wife and three children and on the insistence of Mohammed Allen Galey, a pirate don." His story sounds very different from that of the wealthy 'gentleman pirate' Stede Bonnet, who, legend has it, gave up his respectable life for adventure and, by some accounts, to escape a nagging wife.

Shidat Ali Mohammed, Noor's colleague who grew up in a village near Mogadishu and feeds nine jobless siblings, says that he did not even knew what he was signing up for.

"These powerful guys in the village scout for young, jobless people. They give us guns and send us to sea for money. Only when I started sailing did I realise I had turned into a pirate." His colleague and fellow-villager, Mohammed Ahmed Ali, is less bashful. "I did the only job available in my country," he says candidly.

Story continues here:

http://www.bangalore...he-Arabian.html

LaoPo

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Maybe you don't realize it but the coastline of Somalia is more than 3.000 km long.....THREE THOUSAND !!

To give you an idea: that's the distance between Malmo/Sweden and Malaga in Southern Spain...!! or from NY City to Clovis New Mexico....or from Melbourne/Australia to Cairns/Queensland and than you;re still not there...

As a U.S. Navy veteran I have been all over the Pacific. I know what distances are involved. The ocean off of Somalia is an enormous area to police. There probably is a plan in the works, but like you say until there is a serious loss of life no real action will be taken. As the "inventory" of seized ships and hostages grows, the more difficult the problem will become to avoid some casualties.

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Maybe you don't realize it but the coastline of Somalia is more than 3.000 km long.....THREE THOUSAND !!

To give you an idea: that's the distance between Malmo/Sweden and Malaga in Southern Spain...!! or from NY City to Clovis New Mexico....or from Melbourne/Australia to Cairns/Queensland and than you;re still not there...

As a U.S. Navy veteran I have been all over the Pacific. I know what distances are involved. The ocean off of Somalia is an enormous area to police. There probably is a plan in the works, but like you say until there is a serious loss of life no real action will be taken. As the "inventory" of seized ships and hostages grows, the more difficult the problem will become to avoid some casualties.

I agree; IMO the only way to tackle and solve the piracy problem forever is to eliminate the CAUSE of the piracy and that is to find the guys with brains behind the piracy, ships and mother ships and put them in jail for the rest of their lifes.

Most of the pirates themselves are dead poor hired hands with dangerous weapons and without any proper training. The brain guys don't care if some of them are caught, imprisoned or even killed since they will replace them with fresh 'flesh' doing the jobs for them.

They are well organised and the -cash- money goes directly to the brains.

They are talking about:

"Under the plan, which has been developed over two years, a non-profit association involving private and public sector members would be set up. It would control a fleet of 18 vessels, each with a fixed gun position and an armed crew authorised to engage the pirates in battle.

Each vessel would carry eight armed security personnel and four additional crew as well as inflatable speedboats, known as “Ribs”, which could be dispatched into combat if the tankers they were protecting came under attack."

But, you know probably better than me if I question if 18 patrolboats is enough to tackle the problem in such a huge area; IMO it's running after problems when they occurred already, apart from maybe some rescues and/or preventions of hijackings.

Wouldn't the planned $200 million anti-piracy fund managed by the EU be better installed to hire commandos, operating on Somali soil and grab those b@stards who are behind the piracy?

Give them enough equipment, vehicles, helicopters, planes and arms and the problem could probably be solved much quicker. Of course you need help from within...but for money many Somalis would help.

LaoPo

Pirates Seize American Yacht

Somali pirates have hijacked an American vessel and taken four people hostage.

02/19/2011

VIDEO:

http://abcnews.go.co...-yacht-12955770

Warship Tracking Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates

Seized Vessel Reported to be Headed for Somali Coast; Four Americans on Board

The U.S. Navy is actively tracking the yacht with four

Americans on board that was hijacked by pirates and

was reported to be headed for the Somali coast.

A Defense Department official told ABC News that the

monitoring includes at least one Navy warship and

some helicopters that have been trailing the yacht as

it makes its way from Yemen to Somalia. A pirate who

said he is in contact with the hijackers on the yacht

Quest told The Associated Press that a warship and

helicopters have been following the vessel.

U.S. officials confirmed Saturday that the vessel

seized Friday by Somali pirates off the coast of Oman

has four Americans on board.

Though U.S. officials did not release any information

about the yacht today, a U.S. Embassy spokesman on

Saturday said officials were assessing options and

"possible responses" to the situation.

Story:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/warship-tracking-yacht-hijacked-somali-pirates/story?id=12961526&page=1

LaoPo

Edited February 21, 201115 yr by LaoPo

It does make you wonder why so called terrorist bother with ridiculously protected air planes when they have cruise ships with 5,000 plus sitting ducks unprotected in international waters.

The S/V Quest, the American owned Yacht, now captured by Somali pirates was part of the so called: BLUE WATER RALLY*

The Blue Water Rally is very distressed to learn of the hijacking of SV Quest on 18th February. Scott and Jean Adam joined the Oz-Med section of the Blue Water Rally just before Christmas and had been sailing with the rally from Phuket as far as Mumbai. Quest had taken on board two well known rally participants: Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle.

However, Quest chose to take an independent route from Mumbai to Salalah, leaving the Rally on 15 February.

From: http://www.yachtrall...ater-rally.html

And:

"The organizers of an international yacht race called the Blue Water Rally said the Quest had been taking part in the race but left it Feb. 15 to chart an independent course from India to Oman." (see note below)

http://news.yahoo.co..._captured_yacht

* http://www.yachtrall...ater-rally.html

Note: I wonder if these dates are accurate.

IMO it's impossible to leave Mumbai on the 15th since they were captured on the 18th and now already between Yemen and Somali; some reports even talk that the yacht was expected to land in Somali last night, Sunday.

Distances:

http://maps.google.c...2,62.666016&z=5

LaoPo

Sailor held by Somali pirates a 'true adventurist'

Four Americans were aware of dangers but thought they would be far enough offshore

A U.S. woman who was kidnapped by Somali pirates along with her partner and two Californian friends while sailing a yacht in the Indian Ocean is a "true adventurist" who was having a "great time," according to friends.

Seattle NBC station KING-TV reported that Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle met as members of the Seattle Singles Yacht Club and later sold a lot of their belongings to fund an around-the-world sailing trip.

"She (Macay) is an exceptional person, a true adventurist," friend Vicky Mullen told the station. "This is her lifestyle and we all support her and she's had a great time," she said.

VIDEO excerpts:

* 15 pirates on board

* FBI Hostages negotiating team trying to convice the pirates to release the Americans

from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41672888/ns/world_news-africa/#'>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41672888/ns/world_news-africa/#

Article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41672888/ns/world_news-africa/

LaoPo

Breaking : CNN says all four killed by their hijackers.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/02/22/world/africa/news-us-somalia-pirates-usa.html?_r=1&hp

Edited February 22, 201115 yr by orchis

Breaking : CNN says all four killed by their hijackers.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/02/22/world/africa/news-us-somalia-pirates-usa.html?_r=1&hp

I am wondering about the details in this matter. How far off was the US Navy and what action did they take when the hostages were murdered?

Better question will be what were Obama's directions in this case.

bbc link here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12541297

2 pirates dead , 13 captured

Edited February 22, 201115 yr by steve187

bbc link here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12541297

2 pirates dead , 13 captured

Thanks for the link.

I'm disappointed it didn't say ...15 pirates dead.

...Oh My God...............

I feel horrible and what many feared is now black reality

May they RIP :jap:

LaoPo

Personally, I think serious killings (of -western- hostages) will trigger the western world before any action will take place.

I hate to say it but in this case only the rule: an eye for an eye will finally help to settle this situation since the Western, Middle Eastern and Asian world is helpless.

LaoPo

Nobody would have thought my fears would become reality only 2 days after I wrote the above words...

Let's pray these cold blooded murders were not committed for nothing and will indeed trigger an international anger so that combined forces can finally do something about the cause and roots of the piracy: eliminate the men ashore controlling the pirates and steering the hijacking actions.

What a drama...

LaoPo

(CNN) -- Four hostages on board a yacht hijacked by pirates last week were killed by their captors, U.S. Central Command said in a statement Tuesday.

The vessel, named the Quest, was being shadowed by the military after being captured by pirates off the coast of Oman on Friday. Officials had said earlier Tuesday it was less than two days from the Somali coast.

Article is HERE

Yep, past time for some pre-emptive strikes with a few drones or well placed Tomahawks to seek out these scum bags..

Edited February 22, 201115 yr by WarpSpeed

bbc link here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12541297

2 pirates dead , 13 captured

Thanks for the link.

I'm disappointed it didn't say ...15 pirates dead.

Gotta let one live to tell the story to the others

Terrible - RIP.

Very difficult to say what is on my mind without sounding revengeful. This is a situation where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Time for Plan B. More lives will be lost if bolder action is not taken. RIP.

Edited February 22, 201115 yr by Hawaiian

It really seems to have been them shooting themselves in the foot too as they were negotiating with them and once they shot them it was guaranteed they weren't getting away with it no longer having any pawns to hide behind, really senseless and mindless tragedy..

RIP.

As soon as they were captured I thought the worse would happen to these hostages.

The Somalis had vowed revenge against US citizens after a number of the pirates were killed (1 captured) by the US military following the capture of an American vessel a year or two ago.

There are a large number of pirated ships held in Somali waters and several hundred crewmen (many nationalities) held prisoner ashore. They are usually released when their shipping companies pay the ransoms.

These lives would be forfeit if any force was used against the pirates at home.

Edited February 22, 201115 yr by Old Croc

Killing hostages "has now become part of our rules," said a pirate who identified himself as Muse Abdi and referred to last week's sentencing of a pirate to 33 years in prison for the 2009 attack on the U.S. cargo vessel the Maersk Alabama.

"From now on, anyone who tries to rescue the hostages in our hands will only collect dead bodies," he said. "It will never ever happen that hostages are rescued and we are hauled to prison."

From:

http://www.huffingto...r_n_826431.html

LaoPo