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| Africa Horn |
| Royal Navy in firefight with Somali pirates |
| 2008-11-13 |
| HT: Drudge Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty's warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles. In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory. By the time the Royal Marines boarded the pirates' vessel, the enemy had lost the will to fight and surrendered quietly. The Royal Navy described the boarding as "compliant". Yesterday's dramatic confrontation, the latest in a series of piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden in recent months, took place 60 miles south of the Yemeni coast and involved the Royal Navy Type 22 frigate, HMS Cumberland, which has a Royal Marine unit on board, on short-notice standby to engage in "non-compliant boardings". HMS Cumberland, on anti-piracy partol as part of a Nato maritime force, detected the dhow which was towing a skiff, and identified it as a vessel which had been involved in an attack on the Danish-registered MV Powerful earlier yesterday. The pirates had opened fire on the cargo boat with assault rifles. Under rules of engagement which allows the Royal Navy to intervene when pirates are positively identified, the commandos were dispatched from the frigate in rigid-raider craft and sped towards the pirates' dhow. The Ministry of Defence said the Marines circled the pirates' boat to try and persuade them to stop. As they approached, however, several of the pirates, a mixed crew of Somalis and Yemenis ... (led, apparently, by Moroons), ... swung their assault rifles in their direction and opened fire. The MoD said the Royal Marines returned fire "in self defence", and then boarded the dhow -- a stolen Yemeni-registered fishing vessel. The commandos found guns and other "paraphernalia" on board the dhow and a handful of terrified pirates. The MoD said it was unclear whether the Yemeni who died had been shot by the Marines or was wounded from a previous incident involving the pirates. Yesterday's battle signalled a new policy of maximum robustness for the Royal Navy on the high seas. Captain Mike Davis-Marks, a senior spokesman for the Navy, said: "This is bound to have an impact on pirates who for the last two years have been getting away with seizing vessels and receiving large ransoms. Now suddenly there's the threat of death and this may force them to think again, but they are determined people, so we'll have to see." The Russians claimed a helicopter based on their own frigate Neustrashimy had also taken part in yesterday's battle, though the Royal Navy knew nothing about it. The Royal Marine commandos who boarded the pirates' dhow were supported by a Lynx helicopter from HMS Cumberland, the MoD said. |
| Posted by:Uncle Phester |
| #8 Different ROEs, USN. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2008-11-13 18:28 |
| #7 Because they weren't as heavily armed as the Royal Marines were? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-11-13 17:28 |
| #6 So why didn't they act like this towards the Iranians? instead they did the surrendering..... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-11-13 14:15 |
| #5 It should be considered Very Bad Form to return to the ship with pirate prisoners. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2008-11-13 11:38 |
| #4 I'm with Glenmore, these are Savages, not Humans. Gotta speak their language. One they CAN NOT misunderstand. Do this, YOU DIE is Understandable. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-11-13 10:56 |
| #3 now that wouldn't be very nice glenmore you would have human rights up their ass in a min and not another hair on a pirates head could be hurt. |
| Posted by: chris 2008-11-13 07:48 |
| #2 The Cumberland should make a call at the nearest Somali port with the bodies of the pirates (killed and captured) hanging from a yardarm substitute. They should be cut down and tossed ashore, then the ship should depart. Send a message which could not be misinterpreted. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-13 07:39 |
| #1 a handful of terrified pirates. You know, I doubt those guys would have made even average pirates back in the olden days of european piracy in the Caraibes and such, an indomitable fighting spirit doesn't seem to be their dominant trait. Anyway, this short phrase excerpt above made my day, and it's only 12 AM. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-11-13 06:03 |