Meanwhile...

Gato_Solo

Gato_Solo

Out-freaking-standing OTC member
something more important than the US election has been reported, and nobody seems to care...I wonder what will happen if this stuff winds up in the 'wrong hands'...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — As a heavily armed U.S. destroyer patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead Sunday, a Somali pirate spokesman told The Associated Press his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.

The guided missile destroyer USS Howard was stationed off the Somali coast on Sunday, making sure that the pirates did not remove the tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the ship, which was anchored off the coast.

But the pirate spokesman warned that the pirates would fight to the death if any country tried military action to regain the ship, and a man who said he was the ship's captain reported that one crew member had died.

Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial amount of ammunition and spare parts. The ordnance was ordered by the Kenyan government.
Click to expand...
 
In a rare gesture of cooperation, the Americans appeared to be keeping an eye on the Faina until the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, reaches the area. The Russian ship was still in the Atlantic on Sunday, the Russian navy reported.
Click to expand...

The pirates better negotiate quickly. I doubt the safety of the crew is high on the Russians list.
 
Russia to lend Venezuela $1 bln to buy Russian arms - source

RIA Novosti
25/09/2008 17:42 MOSCOW, September 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will provide Venezuela with a $1 billion loan to buy Russian weapons, a Kremlin source said Thursday.

"The Russian side has made the decision to extend to Venezuela a $1 billion loan for a military cooperation program," the source said ahead of a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, who starts a two-day visit to Russia on Thursday.

Between 2005 and 2007 Russia signed 12 contracts worth more than $4.4 billion to supply arms including fighter jets, helicopters and Kalashnikov assault rifles to Venezuela.

Medvedev will meet with Chavez on Friday in the southern Urals city of Orenburg, the Kremlin said. This will be the presidents' second meeting after their talks in July in Moscow.

Chavez's visit to Russia comes as a Russian naval task force sails to Venezuela for joint exercises, and after two Russian strategic bombers returned from the country last week following a patrol mission along the South American coast.

The show of force by Russia, unprecedented since the Cold War, was condemned by the U.S. administration, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calling it "a dangerous game."

Chavez said earlier Thursday that he and Medvedev would observe a military exercise in the Urals.
Chavez travels to Russia after visiting China, where he sought to boost oil supplies and secure arms deals.
A vocal critic of the United States, Chavez has sought to cultivate allies among countries also unhappy with Washington's foreign policy.

Russia's relations with the United States plunged to a new low after its armed conflict last month with Georgia, which has strong U.S. backing.
Click to expand...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2008/09/mil-080925-rianovosti04.htm
 
Yearrg, shiver me timbers! Avast me mateys!


The USS Howard's web site says it is equipped for combat operations at sea with surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, and a five-inch rapid-fire deck gun.
Click to expand...



In other pirate news....

Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.
Click to expand...
 
i can't wait to see what happens here.

and i can't say i'll do anything other than laugh when the carcasses of the somali pirates are mailed back to their families, balls in mouth(s).
 
Perhaps. The pirates don't care. Make it clear that this type of criminal activity will be met with swift & brutal reprisals will do more to stop it than any alternative.
 
The Rooskies won't be sending in diplomats to beg for the ship and its crew nor will they be too concerned about collateral damage to any civilians in the area.
When their Navy ship arrives at the scene the pirates will be blown sky high.....
 
BeardofPants said:
There are civilians on that ship, mister. *handonhip
Click to expand...

So whats your point? I believe that freighters carrying military gear have an armory for just such a situation...Another thought is to just stay the hell away from that area of the ocean unless you're armed to the teeth and willing to use those arms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top