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View Full Version : Royal Navy sorts out Somali pirates



Okla-homey
11/12/2008, 09:10 PM
Pirates. In 2008.

Argh! Now I hope they hang the survivors.



Pirates Open Fire on Royal Navy - and Die.

THE TIMES (London) Nov. 12 - 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”.

The 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 patrol 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 vessel 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, 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.

Curly Bill
11/12/2008, 09:23 PM
Wouldn't a high explosive shell into the side of the pirate boat been a lot easier? :D

SoonerBorn68
11/12/2008, 09:28 PM
Yumpin' Yemeni!

tommieharris91
11/12/2008, 09:37 PM
Wouldn't a high explosive shell into the side of the pirate boat been a lot easier? :D

Gotta save the booty. :gary:

Curly Bill
11/12/2008, 09:38 PM
Gotta save the booty. :gary:

Oh yeah, it is all about the booty. :D

Harry Beanbag
11/12/2008, 10:51 PM
Greatest headline ever.

Dio
11/13/2008, 12:18 AM
Now we know what Leach did on his week off.

proud gonzo
11/13/2008, 12:22 AM
heh

GottaHavePride
11/13/2008, 12:22 AM
Even I'll admit, if that were a US newspaper the headline would be "Investigation ensues following use of excessive force by US NAvy"

def_lazer_fc
11/13/2008, 12:34 AM
those ****ing amateurs! you forgot your dog, you idiots!

olevetonahill
11/13/2008, 01:21 AM
One Down a Bunch to go .;)

KingBarry
11/13/2008, 05:43 AM
Guys like the Somali pirates can only operate when they are small time enough to make it not worth the bother. The more they interfere with intl shipping, the more they'll come under the big guns -- Western navies and law enforcement.

I think the pirates have just about reached that level of success that can be called "self-defeating."

TheHumanAlphabet
11/13/2008, 09:37 AM
Kinda of what happened in North Africa and the Barbery (sp?) Pirates. Messed around until they got big enough for the Marines to go in and whoop a$$ in Tripoli I believe. Fixed the pirates issue. Someone will fix the Somali pirate issue soon enough.

OUDoc
11/13/2008, 10:11 AM
Now, if we can get Ninjas to attack the Royal Navy, our life-long question can be answered.

Oldnslo
11/13/2008, 10:22 AM
This is awesome.

anybody know whatever happened to that ship with the russian tanks that got hijacked out there?

mdklatt
11/13/2008, 10:38 AM
It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.


Falklands, anyone?

TheHumanAlphabet
11/13/2008, 01:09 PM
No one is still alive for the Falklands War... ;)

Guys are not too bright, you see large war ship, you see 2 RHIs coming fast at you with a bunch of people on them. I would figure that they would be armed to the teeth, but then the said Somali pirates decide to point their small arms at the boats. Suddenly they are overwhelmed with small and large caliber fire. Go figure...

stoopified
11/13/2008, 05:24 PM
Oh yeah, it is all about the booty. :DThat is the title of my life story ITs ALL ABOUT the BOOTY'

Chuck Bao
11/13/2008, 06:03 PM
I'm singing "Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves"

I was a Hong Kong belonger at one time and I remember looking out my window and seeing a British submarine go by just south of Hong Kong island and I was thinking may God bless those men.

My best friend's daughter is on a US ship somewhere out there in the Pacific and I am thanking her too for protecting the shipping channels and defending our country.

So, in the general spirit of freedom and, yes, I finally admit that I was wrong, I'm going to sing this song.

When Britain first, at heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian Angels sung this strain:

Rule, Britannia, rule the waves;
Britons never will be slaves.

The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall:
While thou shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.

Still more majestic shalt thou rise,
More dreadful, from each foreign stroke:
As the loud blast that tears the skies,
Serves but to root thy native oak.

Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame:
All their attempts to bend thee down,
Will but arouse thy generous flame;
But work their woe, and thy renown.

To thee belongs the rural reign;
Thy cities shall with commerce shine:
All thine shall be the subject main,
And every shore it circles thine.

The Muses, still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair:
Blest isle! with matchless beauty crowned,
And manly hearts to guard the fair.

Dan Thompson
11/13/2008, 06:06 PM
A few weeks ago, they approached a ship to board and found out that it was an armed USNS oiler which promply opened fire.

SeattleOUstudent
11/13/2008, 06:10 PM
Clearly they were underestimating the opponent.

http://www.aggies9496.com/Images/ClasslessClowns/mike-leach-pirate1.jpg