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Africa Horn
U.S. Navy Seizes Pirate Ship Off Somalia
2006-01-22
The U.S. Navy boarded an apparent pirate ship in the Indian Ocean and detained 26 men for questioning, the Navy said Sunday. The 16 Indians and 10 Somali men were aboard a traditional dhow that was chased and seized Saturday by the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, said Lt. Leslie Hull-Ryde of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.
That's 26 summary trials. Crowded on the yardarm, however. Do Navy ships have yardarms these days?
The dhow stopped fleeing after the Churchill twice fired warning shots during the chase, which ended 87 kilometers (54 miles) off the coast of Somalia, the Navy said. U.S. sailors boarded the dhow and seized a cache of small arms. The dhow's crew and passengers were being questioned Sunday aboard the Churchill to determine which were pirates and which were legitimate crew members, Hull-Ryde said.
How do you separate the pirates from the galley slaves in the Soomali navy? With a crow bar.
Sailors aboard the dhow told Navy investigators that pirates hijacked the vessel six days ago near Mogadishu and thereafter used it to stage pirate attacks on merchant ships.

The Churchill is part of a multinational task force patrolling the western Indian Ocean and Horn of Africa region to thwart terrorist activity and other lawlessness during the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The Navy said it captured the dhow in response to a report from the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur on Friday that said pirates had fired on the MV Delta Ranger, a Bahamian-flagged bulk carrier that was passing some 320 kilometers (200 miles) off the central eastern coast of Somalia.
Why didn't the Bahamian Navy handle that one?
Hull-Ryde said the Navy was still investigating the incident and would discuss with international authorities what to do with the detained men.
Hang the Somalis from the nearest yardarm and give the Indians a regimen of AZT. Rest at link.
Posted by:ed

#22  HMS or USS Seafarious would make a great pirate-catching ship name, yes?

Arrrrgh...
Posted by: Seafarious   2006-01-22 23:19  

#21  I don't know about anyone else on RB, but there was an HMS Jackal.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-01-22 22:42  

#20  The BBC is calling them "Pirates" as if they naturally are not just because we caught some.

One of those missiles should land on BBC World Heaquarters. I am so tired of the MSM foreign and domestic I could almost go postal on their wasted skins.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom   2006-01-22 22:37  

#19  The brits have all those glorius names, so how about HMS Blasfemous?
Posted by: Al Aska Paul   2006-01-22 22:06  

#18  

A guided missile destroyer against a dhow?
Those boys must be really bored!
What about the pirates of the carribean?
They should clean up the local pond.
Posted by: Skidmark   2006-01-22 22:06  

#17  HMS DumbAsABoxerOfRocks
Posted by: Frank G   2006-01-22 20:58  

#16  Damn, that HMS Battle Axe of course.

and yes.... HMS Boxer
Posted by: 6   2006-01-22 19:36  

#15  Wonder if ther Brits ever named a ship after a U.S. figure
Yes, HMS Battle Aze.
Posted by: 6   2006-01-22 19:35  

#14  USS RAB? I like it!
Posted by: Frank G   2006-01-22 18:01  

#13  It's OK to announce that you've captured pirates...

... after saying that they had confessed, had offered to lead you to their boats, then encountered accomplices, who started shooting....

You know the rest.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-01-22 17:51  

#12  Sure Ed here is a link to the USS Winston Churchill all the info is there. Wonder if ther Brits ever named a ship after a U.S. figure?
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2006-01-22 16:09  

#11  #5: Rule #1, never "capture" pirates.

Should be 'Never announce you've captured pirates'.

Might as well, the 16 Indians will talk.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-01-22 16:03  

#10  Link, Cyber Sarge, to what you said about the three USN ships?
Posted by: Edward Yee   2006-01-22 16:00  

#9  Does the UK still have those cage things they use to display the bodies pirates in? We should borrow them if they do.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom   2006-01-22 15:49  

#8  No plank, keelhaul after court maqrtial on CVN at 40 kts.

Let them learn to water-ski, without the skis. Tie a rope around them, drag them behind that carrier at 40kt, and watch for the shark action.

International law used to say that any pirate caught by any legitimate vessel could be immediately terminated at the discretion of the ship's captain. I hope the UN hasn't screwed up THIS law, too.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2006-01-22 14:34  

#7  Winston had American citizenship.

I think the problem in 1812 was that the British were not inviting our sailors onto their men-o-war.

No plank, keelhaul after court maqrtial on CVN at 40 kts.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-01-22 13:17  

#6  WTG Winny! BTW I read that three U.S. Navy ships are named after British heros and all have one British Navy member assigned. Imagine this prospect BEFORE the war of 1812? Yes we have come a long way. I think that they should make the pirates walk the plank after a speedy trial at sea.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2006-01-22 13:06  

#5  Rule #1, never "capture" pirates.

Should be 'Never announce you've captured pirates'.

Think puzzle-pieces. Intel is needed, even if it's what port or mother-ship they sailed from and who the immediate boss is.
Posted by: Pappy   2006-01-22 11:34  

#4  U.S. Navy Seizes Pirate Ship Off Somalia

Arrrrrr, get thar plank ready maties, and chum the waters for sharks...

truely heart warming..good work
Posted by: RD   2006-01-22 11:20  

#3  "Hull-Ryde" -- is that a euphemism for "keel-haul?"
Posted by: Mike   2006-01-22 11:10  

#2  USS Winston S. Churchill
Kinda makes me all tingly.
Posted by: 6   2006-01-22 10:59  

#1  Rule #1, never "capture" pirates.

The ocean is a big place.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-01-22 10:40  

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