ChrisND Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7637257.stm Should be interesting to see where those end up. ETA: Actually, not sure if the ship "was full of" tanks, but it had some anyways.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkmage Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 sure they can't end up anywhere worse than where they were heading in Sudan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sekra Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Wanna buy some warez tanks? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costard Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 heh - sounds like someone got wind of the deal and sought to scupper it on the high seas. Those damn pirates. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkmage Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Also I thought there was supposed to be an arms embargo on Sudan? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roter Stern Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 What I want to know if why was a Ukranian ship flying a flag of a central american country? Makes it especially curious considering the cargo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Man, if THIS isn't a scenario waiting to be made for CMSF, I don't know what is! Let me know when the pirate battle pack comes out. Later, Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Hi guys, here's a fairly fresh update, note that there is a report APCs and munitions were aboard. The final customer sweepestakes seem to include (so far) the Kenyan government and "South Sudan". So all in all a somewhat fishy transaction, it seems - assuming it really was pirates and not some ueber-secret elite movie cool big nation special forces masquerading as pirates. Somali pirates seize ship carrying tanks = Nairobi/Kiev (dpa) - Pirates have seized a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying military tanks off the coast of Somalia, a maritime official said Friday. "The ship was grabbed yesterday evening as it sailed to (the Kenyan port of) Mombasa," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers‘ Assistance Programme told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "It was carrying military equipment, including tanks," he added. The Russian Interfax news agency late Thursday reported that the Belize-flagged vessel was carrying a shipment of 30 T-72 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and munitions. The shipment reportedly was en-route to South Sudan. A total 21 crew members were onboard - 17 Ukrainians, 3 Russians and one Latvian - when the ship was chased down and boarded by armed men in three launches. The ship‘s captain, a Ukrainian, was able to telephone a merchant marine call centre and describe the pirates boarding his vessel, before communications were cut off, Ukraine‘s News24 television reported. Ukraine‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the count of captured sailors, but declined to give information of the actual destination or cargo contents of the freighter. The bulk carrier, named Faina, also had aboard an undetermined number of armoured personnel carriers, and munitions, Ukraine‘s Interfax news agency reported. Somali authorities were unable to give any information on the current whereabouts of the ship. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Friday called an emergency meeting of the country‘s National Security Council to discuss means of locating and freeing the sailors. Ukraine, which lacks diplomatic representation in the region would be working through British government intermediaries, an official at Ukraine‘s Foreign Ministry said. Piracy is rife off the Somali coast, with armed groups now holding over a dozen ships and around 200 crew members captive. The pirates often demand ransoms in excess of 1 million dollars for the return of the vessels and their crews. Observers have expressed concern that some of the pirates have links to the ongoing bloody insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation and are helping fund it through piracy. Somalia‘s transitional federal government, which has no significant navy and is embroiled in combating the insurgency, has been unable to control the pirates The United Nations Security Council in June approved incursions into Somali waters to combat the pirates and the US Naval Central Command recently set up a security patrol in the area. However, the measures appear to have had little effect so far. dpa ml sbk jbl 261106 GMT Sep 08 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabal23 Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Obviously American special forces. I have a hard time believing we aren't tracking that ship right now with our satellites. NO way these are just winding up in a mystery nations hands without our country knowing exactly where. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Obviously American special forces. I have a hard time believing we aren't tracking that ship right now with our satellites. NO way these are just winding up in a mystery nations hands without our country knowing exactly where. I bet Bush and his dad were there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meach Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I think Britain should by them on the cheap. Use them for OPFOR in exercises, evaluation and finally target practice. How much does a T-72 sell for these days? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkmage Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 What I want to know if why was a Ukranian ship flying a flag of a central american country? Makes it especially curious considering the cargo. It's just a 'flag of convenience', for tax purposes or something similar. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 deleted per user request 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meach Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 The ship will probly be shadowed by sub. The pirates will take any cargo that is liftable. The tanks are probly of no use to them. The crew will be ransomed and the ship will be disabled or possibly scuttled. Or it is SF guys who don't want the tanks to go somewhere. Maybe the sellers of said T-72's have the cash and now want the goods back to sell again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMuhammed Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 It's just a 'flag of convenience', for tax purposes or something similar. Insurance. They can get cheaper insurance by being flagged from certain countries. Lyberia was a popular choice for years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I saw that on the news last night and had much the same reaction you all did. Back in 2001 the US Army was purchasing T-72s, battle ready with ERA, for $250,000 each. These were probably older ones that had been upgraded, but maintained "motor pool ready". A likely source for them was the Czech Republic who was selling off a large amount of their Cold War vehicles. I know, because I really, really wanted one I think the Plain Jane T-72s they had were under $100k. They even sold a couple of SU-100s!! Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMuhammed Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 50K each from what I heard. I think the Brits were selling some of their destroyers for 250K at about the same time. Should have taken out a small business loan and formed my own country. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 50K each from what I heard. I think the Brits were selling some of their destroyers for 250K at about the same time. Should have taken out a small business loan and formed my own country. LOL! . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I wish I had been able to snag some big chunk of armor before the Dollar went down the drain and shipping costs went through the roof. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I wish I had been able to snag some big chunk of armor before the Dollar went down the drain and shipping costs went through the roof. Steve Yeah, that would be fun. Maybe in the future? How's that track of yours doing? Can you run it in the winter snow? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roter Stern Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 New development in the story - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7640496.stm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Red_Rage Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 The pirates don't exactly take the cargo only - they take the WHOLE SHIP. Somalian coast is the modern version of the Pirates of the Carribean, but this time with modern super-fast speedboats, RPG rocket launchers, and GPS systems. I doubt that any sub or military vessel was shadowing the captured ship either - the only navy willing to get involved in combatting piracy off the coast of Somalia have been French, and they are terribly overstreched with one military base in the area, and have been calling for help for years. Noone wants to get involved, because solving a problem at sea involves solving the problem on land in Somalia. And the problem is getting more and more serious with 80 ship hijackings just in August - certain port cities in Somalia are literally converted into heavily defended pirate towns where they tow captured vessels to wait for ransom. So, no special forces, submarines or other developments like that - that stuff only happens in the movies. This was a straight hijacking in a place where 3 vessels a day get attacked. From what I've read from Ukranian sources tanks were valued at around 800,000-1 mil each. Ransom is posted at 35 million, however it is unclear whether tanks are included in it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabal23 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 The pirates don't exactly take the cargo only - they take the WHOLE SHIP. Somalian coast is the modern version of the Pirates of the Carribean, but this time with modern super-fast speedboats, RPG rocket launchers, and GPS systems. I doubt that any sub or military vessel was shadowing the captured ship either - the only navy willing to get involved in combatting piracy off the coast of Somalia have been French, and they are terribly overstreched with one military base in the area, and have been calling for help for years. Noone wants to get involved, because solving a problem at sea involves solving the problem on land in Somalia. And the problem is getting more and more serious with 80 ship hijackings just in August - certain port cities in Somalia are literally converted into heavily defended pirate towns where they tow captured vessels to wait for ransom. So, no special forces, submarines or other developments like that - that stuff only happens in the movies. This was a straight hijacking in a place where 3 vessels a day get attacked. From what I've read from Ukranian sources tanks were valued at around 800,000-1 mil each. Ransom is posted at 35 million, however it is unclear whether tanks are included in it. Actually to say that stuff only happens in the movies isn't actually true. I sailed on FFG??(I have to keep some of what we did secret, I am sure that's what my clearance stated..hehe) for four years. We had Seals on board and we tracked cargo ships throughout the west coast of South America. We boarded those ships all of the time. Nothing fantastic about that. And you don't believe we are tracking that ship off the coast of Somalia? Why shadow with a sub, our satellites do a much better job. Trust me, the news doesn't have to tell you the truth, it's just that we like to believe it because it is the primary source of info for those of you not screening top secret messages coming across teletypes and military communications. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 So, no special forces, submarines or other developments like that - that stuff only happens in the movies. And yet...the article states France, which has troops in nearby Djibouti and also participates in a multi-national naval force patrol in the area, has intervened twice to release French sailors kidnapped by pirates. Commandos freed two people whose boat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month and in April, six arrested pirates were handed over to the French authorities for trial. I doubt that any sub or military vessel was shadowing the captured ship either The USS Howard is there doing just that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 "why was a Ukranian ship..." D'oh! That'll teach me not to get all my news from the radio. I heard this story while getting ready for work this morning and though they said "Iranian" instead of "Ukranian". The news readers should practice enunciating 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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