Pirates attack U.S. cargo ship but fail to get aboard

[Hazcat]

(CNN) -- The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates, according to a NATO source with direct knowledge of the matter.

 
Pirates attacked The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, but were unable to board.

 1 of 2  "The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which sustained damage," said a statement from New York-based Liberty Maritime Corporation, which owns the vessel.

The ship was carrying U.S. food aid for African nations, the statement said.

The pirates never made it onto the ship and the vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Mombasa, officials said.

Two senior defense officials said the Liberty Sun was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge. It is the ship carrying Richard Phillips, the captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked last week. Phillips spent days as a hostage of the pirates before being rescued Sunday.

Katy Urbik of Wheaton, Illinois, said her son, Thomas, was aboard the Liberty Sun at the time of the attack. She shared the e-mails he sent as the ship came under fire.

"We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets," said one e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon. "We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. [A] rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out.

"Navy is on the way and helos and ships are coming. I'll try to send you another message soon. [G]ot to go now. I love you mom and dad and all my brothers and family."

"My heart stopped after I realized there wasn't going to be a 'just kidding' after his comment," Katy Urbik said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/14/somalia.pirates/index.html

[fightingquaker13]

Could someone please explain to me for the 19th time, why we don't have US Marines on US flagged vessels in these waters? I mean honestly, they can be heloed on and off before makig port, no diplomatic nonsensence required, a whole lot cheaper than the Bainbridge, and a lot of dead, but wiser piates. If I'm missing somethng I would be happy to stand corrected.
FQ13

[alfsauve]

Could someone please explain to me for the 19th time, why we don't have US Marines on US flagged vessels in these waters? I mean honestly, they can be heloed on and off before makig port, no diplomatic nonsensence required, a whole lot cheaper than the Bainbridge, and a lot of dead, but wiser piates. If I'm missing somethng I would be happy to stand corrected.
FQ13

I too fail to understand why our ships aren't better protected in the region.    And why aren't we blowing up something Somalian today in retaliation?  Scratch one terrorist training camp.  After a few of these the Samolian pirates will not only quit attacking US vessels, they'll help guard them against other pirates.

[Solus]

2 M2s and a crew of 4 would be all the protection that would be needed from what I have seen from these reports.

If we don't have enough Navy resources to patrol this vast area, we ought to be able to come up with this minimal armament and personal to protect each ship.

I know there would be some type of legal or insurance "red tape" to overcome...but it would end the attack on such ships.

[philw]

I too fail to understand why our ships aren't better protected in the region. 

Agree  110%


not knowing marine laws,  why can they not be armed them selves on the ships,  also have there been more Pirate attacks recently  or are they just reporting more  to get the focus of the $$$ that the gov's are blowing

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

We need Deepwater's input here.

[ericire12]

2 M2s and a crew of 4 would be all the protection that would be needed from what I have seen from these reports.

If we don't have enough Navy resources to patrol this vast area, we ought to be able to come up with this minimal armament and personal to protect each ship.

I know there would be some type of legal or insurance "red tape" to overcome...but it would end the attack on such ships.

Comment of the day award!

[tombogan03884]

Could someone please explain to me for the 19th time, why we don't have US Marines on US flagged vessels in these waters? I mean honestly, they can be heloed on and off before makig port, no diplomatic nonsensence required, a whole lot cheaper than the Bainbridge, and a lot of dead, but wiser piates. If I'm missing somethng I would be happy to stand corrected.
FQ13

The Marines are limited by law to a manpower of 200,000,( Active duty) that works out to about  70,000 per Division counting Air Wing and support troops. 1 Div is in Okinawa, 1 is in Ca. that leaves only the 2nd out of  NC minus 3 Battalion landing teams (or what ever they call them nowadays) committed to the Mediterranean, and what ever troops are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The 1st and 3rd Divs have similar commitments to deployments in other theaters. Like wise the Seals are stretched thin, that's why it took 4 days to get a team into position to take these most recent shots.
In answer to Solus, it would take a minimum of 6 just to man 2 guns round the clock (and that is just a gunner, no A - gunner/loader) 12 would be better.
From what I've been seeing in the news that would increase the average crew size by 50% with an equal increase in needed berthing, food, water, toilet facilities etc. These ships are designed to run with the smallest crews they can as more people equal more pay, insurance and so on which raises the price of shipping. adding another dozen people would require modifications that would also be added to the price of shipping.
Then after all the expense of recruiting training and deploying the guards and making the modifications neede the pirates would simply change their tactics, perhaps releasing a cloud of Chlorine, Sarin, or some other easily manufactured gas ahead of the ship, forcing us to find countermeasures which would likely involve further expense, which the pirates would then find a way to counter, and on and on.
The simplest, least expensive most effective measure is to kill them where they live just as was done so effectively on the "Spanish Main". The only practical counter to blockade, naval gun fire and raids by landing parties is to stop doing what is provoking them, add the lack of profit to the increased risk and the pirates will find another line of work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090415/ap_on_re_af/piracy

[Solus]

In answer to Solus, it would take a minimum of 6 just to man 2 guns round the clock (and that is just a gunner, no A - gunner/loader) 12 would be better.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090415/ap_on_re_af/piracy

I was allowing for 2 12 hour shifts with a gunner only.  My thinking was that since the chance of action would be slight, they would just need to be at the post but not necessarily even awake, just ready for action.

The task of watching for the pirates would remain with the original crew.   

I also considered that if an attack did occur, the off duty personal would be able to act as backup/additional crew.

 

[ericire12]

Here is the answer for piracy:

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/04/16/smart-power-iii-lets-keep-pirates-from-buying-boats/

The solution to piracy is the same in the 21st century as it was in the 19th century.  Sink their ships without warning, destroy their bases of operation, and never negotiate except to accept their unconditional surrender

Everything has a cost-benefit threshold; when pirates don’t make money and start dying in large numbers, fewer people will want to become pirates.

I’d offer one more solution as a parallel, suggested by a Hot Air reader earlier this week.  The US Navy should buy or lease some smaller container ships as decoys and sail them through the Gulf of Aden, only with fully-armed commandos on board.  When pirates start discovering that some American-flagged ships are fakes bristling with death, they’ll think twice about approaching any other American-flagged ship again.

Hillary Clinton's idea: (NOT THE ANSWER)

   Let’s keep pirates from buying boats

 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the Obama administration will take the unusual step of trying to seize pirate financial assets and property, as it works with shippers to thwart hijackers off the coast of Somalia.

    The measures outlined by Clinton, part of a new U.S. diplomatic initiative to thwart sea piracy, are largely stopgap and symbolic moves while officials weigh more comprehensive diplomatic and military action.