Horn of Africa Update- Who's Minding the Store? Maersk Alabama Saga Coming to Silver Screen? Attempt to Rescue Danish Family Botched

With all the naval assets from the USA and Europe being redeployed from antipiracy patrols in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea to the Mediterranian to support the blockade and no-fly zone overe Mumar Ghdaffi's Libya, one would think it would only be a matter of time before the pirates took advantage. Of course, even before the deteriorating situation in Libya, the pirates simply got around the increased international naval patrols by venturing further out into the Indian Ocean- from the Straits of Hormuz to the north, Mozambique to the south.

Photo- The Hindu

INDIA: The Indian Navy took 61 pirates into custody after the fast attack craft INS Kalpeni pursued and exchanged fire with a Somali pirate 'mother ship' earlier this month. The mother ship was the Vega 5, a Mozambique fishing vessel that was seized by pirates some 200 nautical miles southwest of the Comoros Isles in the straits of Mozambique in late December 2010.

According to naval officials, the operation began when they received a distress call from MV Vancouver Bridge which was under pirate attack on Friday last. A naval Dornier maritime recce aircraft located Vega 5 in the area. Seeing the naval aircraft, the pirates abandoned their attack and tried to flee. While the Dornier continued to track the pirate mother vessel Vega 5, the Navy's missile corvette Khukri and FAC Kalpeni, which had been deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, were diverted to intercept and investigate Vega 5, the Navy said. The pirate mother vessel launched two skiffs which fired at Kalpeni, which was closing in on Vega 5 in Saturday night. INS Kalpeni responded with limited firing. By then it was observed that a fire had broken out on Vega 5, apparently originating from the additional fuel drums that the mother vessels of the pirates are known to be carrying to fuel the skiffs. Personnel were also seen jumping overboard. INS Kalpeni along with INS Khukri nabbed 74 men, including 61 pirates and 13 members of the original crew of the fishing vessel. Preliminary investigations revealed that the pirates were carrying about 80 to 90 small arms and rifles and a few heavier weapons likely to be RPGs, the release said. Indian Navy has already apprehended two pirate mother ships on January 28 and February 11 and had nabbed 43 pirates in those two operations.

According to Oceanus Live the turnaround time for the pirates using a captured vessel as a 'mother ship' is remarkable.

The most surprising aspect of Somali piracy this week has been the speed of turnaround for capturing a merchant vessel and using it as a mothership to conduct operations against other innocent seafarers. The Indonesian MV Sinar Kudus was hijacked by up to 50 pirates, taking the 20 Indonesian crew hostage. Within 24-hours the vessel had enabled the pirates to carry out an attack on the MV Emperor. The Sinar Kudus capture followed the release of the MV Hannibal II, which had been held for 4 months and used as a mothership, for a ransom of $2million.

PUNTLAND: Earlier this month, an attempt by Puntland to rescue a Danish family held captive inland after their yacht was seized failed as the would-be rescuers were ambushed.

An attempt by Somali security forces to free a Danish family being held by pirates failed yesterday after the rescuers were ambushed. One of the pirates, Bile Hussein, told the Associated Press that armed forces from the northern region of Puntland, which is where most Somali pirates are based, tried to surround the village of Hul Anod and free the Danish family. He said some of the government forces were killed and others were captured in the botched rescue attempt. “We defended ourselves and foiled their attempt to recover the Danish family,” he told AP. “We have killed and captured some of their soldiers and burnt two (government) pickup trucks. They have run away back to where they came from …The hostages are safe and still in our hands.”

The Danish family was seized by pirates on the open waters of the Indian Ocean last month and have since been taken inland.

Photo- U.S. Army Africa

MOGADISHU: The African Union announced that it was going to commit another 3000 Peacekeepers to the AU's Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in support of the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government. The soldiers will be deployed from Uganda and Burundi, although the defense minister for Somalia's Transitional government said that Djibouti and Ghana were preparing to send soldiers as well.

TUNISIA: Somali pirates have released a Panamanian-flagged Tunisian tanker and it's crew after negotiating a $2 million ransom with the Tunisian government.

The Hannibal II, whose 31 crewmembers are mostly Tunisian, is currently on its way to Djibouti in the Red Sea, the ministry said. "This release comes after the success of negotiations undertaken by the Tunisian government with the Somalia pirates and the payment of a ransom estimated at $2 million," the official TAP news agency quoted the ministry as saying. It did not say who paid the ransom, or how. The Tunisian shipowner Gabes Marine Tankers (GMT) had announced that the release of the ship was imminent late Wednesday. "Negotiations have not been easy and we cannot be sure the ship will be released until it leaves Somalian waters accompanied by a naval protection vessel," said company owner Farid Abbas. The crew is composed of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos and one each from Croatia, Georgia, Russia and Morocco. "All possible means of security has been provided, and a civilian plane will be sent (to Djibouti) to repatriate the Tunisian crew today," the ministry said in a statement. "All the crew are in good health," it said. The 24,000 tonne chemical tanker was carrying vegetable oil from Pasir Guadang in Malaysia to Suez in Egypt when it was attacked and boarded by pirates some 860 nautical miles east of the Horn of Africa on November 11. The area where it was attacked is considerably closer to India that it is to Somalia.

'I'm ready for my close-up!'

HOLLYWOOD: Reports are circulating that actor Tom Hanks is set to portray MV Maersk Alabama captain Richard Phillips in an upcoming movie about the 2009 pirate attack on the vessel and ensuing standoff some 200 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. The upcoming movie is being produced by the same team behind 2010's The Social Network.

Pirates 0, Alabama 2; Slow-Learning Pirates Attack MV Maersk Alabama....AGAIN!

However, it seems like the vessel was ready for them this time around:

The MV Maersk Alabama has thwarted another attack by Somali pirates, according to European Union and U.S. Navy officials.

"Pirates fired automatic weapons on MV Maersk Alabama who responded with fire," said an EU Naval Command Statement, "The crew managed to repel the attack and no casualties were reported."

The pirates' assault was countered by gunfire and a high-decibel noise device from a security team that is traveling aboard the Alabama to defend it from pirates.
Maersk spokesman Kevin Speers told reporters the ship was headed to Mombasa, Kenya, carrying food aid for war-torn Somalia when it was fired upon by a pirate boat carrying four gunmen.

Navy officials tell ABC News that all 20 members aboard the Maersk Alabama are now "safe and secure," and have resumed their journey.

Of course, given how poorly the pirates fared last time they tried going after the Maersk Alabama, it shouldn't be too surprising that she'd have a bigger bullseye on her this time around.

'Grim Milestone': The Election of Barak Hussein Obama- 1 Year Later

Referring to the Obama Administration as a 'disappointment' would be terribly misleading on my part, since- to put it charitably- I didn't consider President Obama the most qualified man for the job in the first place.


To give the President credit, he had a hand some things that I agree wholeheartedly with; calling Kanye West a jackass, ventilating the pirates who tried hijacking the MV Maersk Alabama, Predator drones incinerating Taliban vermin in the hinterlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan whether the world's first failed nuclear state likes it or not, coordinated strikes against Al Qaeda operatives in the Horn of Africa....you know, mostly stuff that would probably require Executive-level approval somewhere along the line. Stuff that- most importantly- leads to the enemies of these United States of America dying an abrupt and violent death.

But it's rather telling that a year ago tonight, thugs and tyrants like Hugo Chavez and Robert Mugabe were hoping the US election would turn out exactly the way it did.

Then there's the issue of the leaders of Canada and France treating the issue of Iran's nuclear programme with more urgency than the White House. Keep in mind Iran's mullahs are the same people who set the basiij militia on the populace, arbitrarily beating, detaining and shooting Iran's civilians for all the world to see or follow on Twitter. Yet they can somehow be trusted with the raw materiel for a nuclear programme? Or better yet, these are the people who President Obama wants to negotiate in good faith with?

Domestically, the President has been enthusiastically championing some God-awful legislation such as Card Check, Cap & Trade, Obamacare (or the ill-defined, nebulous 'Healthcare reform' if you prefer) and the $787 Billion stimulus package. The stimulus was supposed to create jobs, repair or replace crumbling infrastructure and prevent the jobless rate from rising above 8% nationally. As of this afternoon, the National unemployment rate is just under 10% (9.8%). Cap and trade is guaranteed to make that jobless rate higher, increase the costs of energy and transportation for Americans and lower the standard of living in this country.

Let's not forget the whole matter in Cambridge, MA between Sgt. Crowley of the Cambridge PD and Harvard professor Henry Gates. During a Q&A press conference shortly after the incident, the president arranged for a question to be asked about Gates' arrest and release by the Cambridge Police. Even with a friendly press pool, the President still managed to screw the pooch when he said he wasn't aware of all the facts in the case, he was biased because Prof. Gates was an acquaintance of his but still decided right then and there that the Cambridge police (specifically Sgt. Crowley) 'acted stupidly'. As more information came out about the arresting officer and his credentials and Prof. Gates and his belligerence, Obama had to backpedal and ultimately staged a photo-op beer summit at the White House.

The incident was fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but that's exactly my point. If the President got it wrong on a fairly minor matter that would hardly make the police blotter of a small-town newspaper, why exactly should I trust him on the bigger issues?

Then there's the matter of the war.....no- not Afghanistan, silly! Fox news, insurance companies, the US Chamber of commerce and....Edmunds.com- the publisher of the Blue Book used to assess used-car prices. If the White House isn't directing their time and energies towards thwarting these insidiously evil enemies of this great republic, then they're busy blaming the previous administration for the economy, Afghanistan, the present state of healthcare, housing, Iraq (which- like it or not- is logistically more tenable than Afghanistan) subprime lending, the auto industry or America's standing in the' world. At this rate, I hope President Obama keeps using the 'Failed policies of the last 8 years' mantra for his 2012 campaign. Sure, it's a little tiresome- but by that point in time, he'd be admitting that his first term- even with a filibuster-proof supermajority for at least the first 2 years- was a complete and utter failure. Having said that, this comes across as petty, incredibly shallow and thin-skinned on his part. Think about it- he campaigned on his willingness to sit down and negotiate with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmedinejahd, but his administration will have nothing to do with The Hartford?

Am I leaving anything out? The takeover of General Motors, AIG or Citibank maybe? That incredible clusterf*ck down in Honduras that's playing out pretty much how Hugo Chavez wants it to? The ill-fated Olympic bid? Releasing Gitmo inmates so they can be tried in the USA and have the same rights as a motorist pulled over by a state trooper for a broken taillight? His circle of questionable associates- many of whom have been appointed 'czars'?

I'm sure there's more I'm leaving out, but there are only so many hours in the day.