Pirate “mother ship” ablaze after engagement with INS Tabar on November 18th, 2008:
(Image courtesy of the Government of India Press Information Bureau, via Rantburg)
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Nov 2008
20
Nov 2008
INS Tabar (Sanskrit for “battle axe”) has been in the Gulf of Aden all of 17 days and has already racked up three successes; two saves and one kill.
“INS Tabar encountered a pirate vessel south west of Oman with two speedboats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the ‘mother vessel’ mentioned in various piracy bulletins. INS Tabar closed in on the vessel and asked her to stop for investigation,” Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Nirad Sinha said.
Following repeated calls, the vessel threatened to blow up the INS Tabar if it closed in.
“Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar,? Sinha said.
INS Tabar, which is also equipped with the Israeli Barak missiles, opened up with its medium machine gun, a closing-in weapon and capable of firing 4,500-5,000 rounds per minute. The episode, which began late Tuesday evening, continued for three-four hours.
“On being fired upon, INS Tabar retaliated in self defence and opened fire on the mother vessel. As a result, fire broke out on the pirate vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel,” Sinha added.
– “Indian Navy frigate sinks Somali pirate ship“, Indo-Asian News Service (in Mangalorean.com), Novembe 19th, 2008.
I am rather nonplussed with the performance of NATO’s CTF-150; it’s been operating in those waters since 2002 with surface action groups numbering up to eight vessels, and nary a drop in pirate activity. Escorting food aid shipments, while chivalrous, has no deterrent value and no punitive value, either. Pirates are going to follow the path of least resistence and go after easier, more valuable pickings, and a half-dozen warships cannot hope to scour the entirety of the Somali coastline.
It is embarassing (to say the least) that NATO, including in its ranks the past titans of exploration, colonisation and naval dominance?namely Portugal, Spain, France, Britain and the Netherlands?cannot summon up enough collective willpower to put an end to East African piracy. Take a hint from your past, NATO:
- Start hanging. Dead pirates rebalance the cost/reward equation. If you’re a poor young guy from a Somali shantytown barely eking out a living, risking your life to take a fat bulk carrier for a $2 million ransom sounds like a pretty good deal. Hell even landing in a western jail for a few years sounds better than scraping by on a survival existence back home. There is no downside to piracy right now. If a young Somali is going to risk his life just by living in a failed state, he may as well risk it on a big payoff.
- Deny them sanctuary. Pirates who have no port to call home have a hard time resting, refitting and recruiting. The European powers started making the largest dents in Caribbean piracy when they started going after pirate havens like Tortuga, Port Royal and New Providence Island. Right now the entire Somali coastline is open for pirate business. No amount of escorts can possibly safeguard the thousands of vessels that transit those waters every year. Hit the pirates where they live, or their ranks will continue to swell.
- Commission dedicated pirate-hunting task forces. Yes, it’s not as sexy as sailing with the carrier battle group, but you need dedicated ships and men to hunt down pirates and put them out of business. Where is this generation’s Ellis Brand, Robert Maynard or Chaloner Ogle? Keep putting pressure on the pirates, and make a concerted effort not just to ward them off, but to capture and punish them.
The simple fact is, some 23,000 vessels transit the Gulf of Aden every year, and the number of pirates is going to continue to grow until the calculus of piracy is no longer attractive. Apparently we’ve paid out something like $30 million in ransoms already.
On Tuesday, a major Norwegian shipping group, Odfjell SE, ordered its more than 90 tankers to sail around Africa rather than use the Suez Canal after the seizure of the Saudi tanker Saturday.
”We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden,” said Terje Storeng, Odfjell’s president and chief executive.
– Associated Press. “Indian navy sinks suspected pirate ‘mother ship’“, Chicago Sun-Times, November 19th, 2008.
Look, this isn’t rocket science, fellas. You’ve done it before. Grow a pair like the Indians and start kicking pirate ass.
RELATED: Deutsche Welle says EU, NATO are helpless against the pirates. Not so. Western navies have firepower and people well-trained to use it. What they are missing is political masters (and, I’ll wager, top brass with scrambled eggs on their hats) with any semblance of courage.
A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME UPDATE: BBC News points out that pirates live a life of relative luxury compared to their countrymen, and as a result piracy has become socially acceptable, even fashionable.
12
Nov 2008
Come on Barbie, let’s go party…
12
Nov 2008
Kudos to INS Tabar (“Battle axe” in Sanskrit) for warding off Somali pirates attempting to take two merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. Tabar is one of three Talwar-class frigates, based on the Russian Krivak III design. Her motto is, fittingly, “Guts and Glory”. The Indian frigate received distress calls from Saudi oil carrier NCC Tihama, and Indian bulk carrier Jag Arnav, and successfully defended them both with small arms fire from its Chetak ASW helicopter.
INS Tabar, a Talwar-class guided-missile stealth frigate, was cruising in the Gulf of Aden at about 10 am when it got a frantic distress call from Saudi Arabian chemical and oil carrier NCC Tihama.
Tihamas call said two to three high-speed boats, with several armed men, were trying to hijack the ship which was headed westwards. An armed Chetak helicopter, with four marine commandos, was immediately launched from INS Tabar, said a senior Navy officer.
Even as the Chetak hovered over Tihama, the marine commandos opened fire with their automatic weapons at the pirates trying to board the Saudi tankship after surrounding it. Deterred by the fire, the pirates promptly turned tail and fled in their speedboats into Somali waters.
It was around this time 10.30 am or so when the Chetak was still in the air, that INS Tabar received another SOS call. This time, the message was that Indian merchant vessel Jag Arnav — which is owned by the Mumbai-based Great Eastern Company and was eastward bound after transiting through the Suez Canal a few days earlier — was being ambushed by another band of pirates in two boats about 60 nautical miles east of Aden.
The Chetak was then diverted towards Jag Arnav‘s position, about 25 nautical miles away from INS Tabar’s location, with instructions to Tihama to follow the Indian frigate for safety.
There was no need to fire even warning shots this time. Seeing the helicopter approach Jag Arnav, which had a 25-member crew, the pirates promptly jettisoned their hijack plans and sped away, said the officer.
– Rajat Pandit. “Commandos answer SOS from Saudi, Indian vessels, scare off pirates“, Times of India, November 11th, 2008.
Wonder of wonders, India appears to be blessed with a senior staff that actually understands the purpose and role of a navy, too.
Lauding the near-simultaneous operations carried out by his force, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said, Piracy is a crime which all men of war are required to combat at all times.
[emphasis mine]
Unless they are men of war from NATO or the UN, in which case they have their hands tied by the morally myopic back home. All the legal angles have to be thought of first, like who has jurisdiction? How will the pirates be arraigned and tried? How can we best accomodate their ancient scavenging seafarer culture traditions in the framework of modern justice? What is the thread count in the blankets provided to said pirates while incarcerated? How many conjugal visits do they get? And most importantly, how can we get them back home without actually punishing them?
Don’t think the residents of eastern Africa haven’t noticed our inability to deal with this piracy. They have. Some in the normally somnambulent Western media have noticed, too.
Thank God for Admiral Mehta and the Indian navy, who appear to understand that our entire post-Enlightenment economic system depends heavily on safe and regular worldwide trade, and has for the past few hundred years.
The navy has been conducting “anti-piracy patrols” in the Gulf of Aden since 23 October, because a “sizeable portion of our country’s trade” flows through it, the navy statement said.
“There has been a quantum increase in the number of piracy attacks in this region over the last few months.
“These patrols are carried out in co-ordination with the Ministry of Shipping and are intended to protect Indian merchant vessels from being attacked by pirates and also to instil confidence in our large seafaring community.”
– BBC News, “India navy ‘stops pirate attack’“, November 11th, 2008.
[emphasis mine]
Let’s be clear, this is not a problem limited to eastern African or Indian Ocean states; this affects every nation whose trade transits the Suez Canal. One hopes that sooner or later, other nations will also see the value in instilling confidence in their own seafaring communities.
AVAST YE FILTHY SCALAWAG UPDATE: INS Tabar sinks a pirate “mother ship” after a mere 17 days in the Gulf of Aden.
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Nov 2008
Against all odds, HM Government under the Right Hon. Gordon Brown has dispatched two frigates (HMS Northumberland and HMS Cumbria) to the Gulf of Aden on anti-piracy patrol. Even more shocking, the warships have been given the green light to destroy the pirates.
Now that is more like it.
RELATED: The Danish Navy foils pirates, but sadly, not in a destructive way.
TANGENTIALLY RELATED: Saddam’s old luxury yacht, the Ocean Breeze, is up for sale. I have to say I am disappointed in the late Mr. Hussein. First, he didn’t manage to kit out his boat with any good Bond-villain superweapon systems; although the missile launcher and mini-sub are nice touches. Shades of Thunderball. Second, even the lamest tinpot dictator should be able to come up with a more fearsome name than Ocean Breeze. Just go to the Pirate Ship Name Generator and pick one out.
04
Nov 2008
My American Brethren:
On behalf of my fellow foederati, who look to your legions to keep the peace; who sell the bulk of our wares in your fora;
Choose wisely today.
Image: “Landscape with Roman Ruins“, Herman Posthumus, 1536.
Category: Foreign Affairs, Pro Victoria
One Comment
04
Nov 2008
I have just recently gotten up-to-speed on the second season of The Tudors, having watched the finale yesterday. While I have enjoyed the whole series tremendously, it does engender a great many questions.
To my mind this is part of the genius of the show; for even when it takes enormous liberties with history, it is still makes for a compelling story. Much like Frank Miller’s 300, both of them sharing a common conception of historical drama as “one fifth history, and four-fifths something that looks cool”.
Little by little over the course of a season, you will get suckered into researching the actual history behind the flashy events on screen. And thus I was very glad to discover commenters at TudorHistory.org’s Q&A blog have posited several potential answers to the question of why Mary I didn’t crop her younger half-sister at the neck.
TANGENTIALLY RELATED: James Frain’s portrayal of Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, is all the go. A strikingly complex and humane portrait of a man that is usually portrayed as a one-dimensional evil henchman. It will be a shame to see this Cromwell ascend the scaffold.
EVEN MORE TANGENTIAL: Natalie Dormer interviewed in the Daily Mail, with a plethora of fetching pictures.
Image: Sarah Bolger as Lady Mary Tudor.
03
Nov 2008
Ontario will receive $347 million in equalization payments next year, the first time it has ever been a recipient of funds since the system was introduced in 1957. Until this point it has been the only province to have never received equalization payments.
Perennial have-not province Newfoundland is now flush with oil cash, and will not receive payments in FY 2009. Thank you Newfies, for finally stepping up to the plate.
Now the big question is, how can we get some kind of 6-month seasonal EI gravy train started in Ontario? And who will be our annoying Danny Williams stunt double?
03
Nov 2008
I love it when the Canadian media and establishment rushes to reassure us—despite the fact that the United States is about to elect its first African-American president—that cross-cultural tolerance and diversity are actually Canadian hallmarks, and we’re so much more open to these things than our southern neighbour. The condescension and soft-headedness in this CP article is stunning.
Here is the Honorable Lincoln Alexander—Canada’s first black MP, and Ontario’s first black Lieutenant-Governor—exuding petulance and faux ignorance:
On Canada’s multicultural stage, however, where visible minorities already occupy some of the highest offices in the land, the prospect of a minority prime minister might well feel like old news.
“It’s possible – damn possible,” said Lincoln Alexander, Canada’s first black member of Parliament and Ontario’s first black lieutenant governor.
“Did you ever think you’d have a black lieutenant governor? Did you think you’d have a black governor general? What are we talking about – what’s so great about being the prime minister, anyway?”
– “Electing a visible minority PM would be in line with Canadian values, experts“, Canadian Press, November 3rd, 2008.[emphasis mine]
What’s so great about being Prime Minister versus GG or LG? Well for starters, the Prime Minister has to win the confidence of his or her party, via ballot box. Then they have to win the confidence of the voting populace, via ballot box. The Governor General and Lieutenant-Governors, in contrast, are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of one man—the Prime Minister. The vice-regal representatives never face the populace at the ballot box in order to win appointment.
That’s a distinct and qualitative difference. It is a shame the Honorable Mr. Alexander is obtusely pretending otherwise.
But onwards with the condescension. Next up is a professor of political sudies from Queen’s University:
Canada’s already seen a female prime minister, albeit briefly – Kim Campbell in 1993 – but no visible minority has ever held the keys to 24 Sussex. [CT: Nevermind 24 Sussex; no visible minority leadership candidate has ever got within hailing distance of Stornoway. And wherever they stow the NDP guy.]
Other milestones include former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh as the first Indo-Canadian to become premier, as well as a host of MPs of myriad ethnic backgrounds, including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, African-American and Lebanese.
“It would be more like one more step on a path along which we’ve been walking,” said Keith Banting, a political studies professor at Queen’s University, of the prospect of a minority PM.
“It would be a serious step, but I think the history in the U.S. is a bigger hurdle to overcome.“
Yes, America is such a racist shithole that it is inconceivable that they are about to elect a black man as President. They have never made any steps toward racial reconciliation, ever. And it’s common knowledge that non-white voters are routinely beaten and forced to recite showtunes from Song of the South by poll officials as part of the voting process. Up here in Canada, of course, we don’t do that sort of thing. But despite the fact that we have never, ever selected anything but Caucasian men and women to serve as leaders of the three major federal parties, just keep reminding yourself that we’re further along the path to racial equality.
But wait, the best is yet to come.
No single ethnic group in Canada makes up a coveted block of voters like African-Americans or Hispanics do in the U.S., which means no one group of Canadians has the same ability to move a candidate through the ranks.
Obama’s success may, however, be a special case altogether.
With his inclusive, inspirational message of change, the senator isn’t strongly perceived as a racial minority, said Jeffrey Reitz, professor of ethnic and immigration studies at the University of Toronto.
I hate to break it to you but not everyone with darker skin pigmentation votes for other guys with elevated melanin levels. I am pretty sure we sometimes read different newspapers, watch different shows, and, occasionally, have different opinions, too. Shocking, I know.
Great Caesar’s Ghost. Obama is succeeding only because black folks vote for him? Well, that and the “Hope and Change” mantra has distracted white people from the fact that he’s actually a black man! What the hell are you saying, exactly, Professor Jeffrey Reitz? Stop and think about it for a moment. Jesus.
Thankfully the article closes off with some actual wisdom from another Poli Sci professor at UofT, pointing out that if a gifted minority politician rose to similar heights in Canada, we would not be surprised if they won, indeed, we’d expect it.
Other than that, though, what a mess of lazy thinking and casual bigotry.
Chris is most often found flying a desk, but he delights in studying the Golden Age of Aviation (1919-1939). He admires all the pioneering men and women who navigated the skies with nothing more sophisticated than a map, compass and sextant—and the conviction that there was no place they could not reach.
