NATO forces capture 7 pirates, free 20 hostages

[Niels Bohr 72]

ON BOARD CORTE-REAL (Reuters) - Dutch commandos on Saturday freed 20 hostages who had been forced to sail a pirate "mother ship" attacking commercial vessels in the strategic Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said.

NATO Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes told Reuters the hostages were freed after Dutch naval forces, on a NATO mission in the area, captured seven pirates who attacked a Greek-managed tanker.

The officials said a Dutch frigate responded when the pirates, armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, attacked the MT Handytankers Magic, managed by Roxana Shipping SA of Greece.

An unexploded rocket-propelled grenade was later found on board the tanker, they said.

Friday five gunmen in a skiff neared a Danish cargo vessel, the MV Puma, in the Gulf of Aden, prompting U.S. and South Korean warships to send aircraft to the scene.

The sea gangs have captured dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors prisoner and made off with millions of dollars in ransoms over the last few months despite an unprecedented deployment by foreign navies in the region off the African coast.

Last week, pirates captured two more ships and opened fire on two others. A French naval frigate seized 11 gunmen on Wednesday, foiling yet another attack. France says it plans to hand them to the Kenyan authorities.

(Reporting by Alison Bevege; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It's about frigging time! Open season on Somali pirates!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Old pirates, yes, they rob I

Sold I to the merchant ships

Minutes after they took I

From the bottomless pit

But my hand was made strong

By the hand of the almighty

We forward in this generation

Try harm friendly

Won't you help to sing

These songs of freedom?

'Cause all I ever have

Redemption songs

Redemption songs

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery

None but ourselves can free our minds

Have no fear for atomic energy

'Cause none of them can stop the time

How long shall they kill our prophets

While we stand aside and look? Ooh

Some say it's just a part of it

We've got to fullfil the book

Won't you help to sing

These songs of freedom?

'Cause all I ever have

Redemption songs

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Why aren't any of these ships armed? If I got robbed everytime I went to 7-11, I'd either quit going or bring a gun.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Why aren't any of these ships armed? If I got robbed everytime I went to 7-11, I'd either quit going or bring a gun.

I have heard both these reason on the news: 1) It costs more money to hire armed guards. and 2) The ships liability insurance would cost more.

There is no reason a ship cannot be armed on the open seas, and the captain can secure the weapons once they enter territorial waters. The origin of the Marines dates back to that detail.

Edited April 18, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Why aren't any of these ships armed? If I got robbed everytime I went to 7-11, I'd either quit going or bring a gun.

I have heard both these reason on the news: 1) It costs more money to hire armed guards. and 2) The ships liability insurance would cost more.

There is no reason a ship cannot be armed on the open seas, and the captain can secure the weapons once they enter territorial waters. The origin of the Marines dates back to that detail.

It seems fairly straightforward to me. When you see the pirates approaching, blow them out of the water.