Pirates In Indian Ocean: Seizing armory ship, oil tanker, etc & ransom demands

[Augustine Moshi]

Tangu lini tukaacha kusaidia anayekandamizwa na kuwa upande wa mkandamizaji? Tunapashwa kuwa upande wa SPLA na sio vinginevyo.

Kama Rais Kikwete anashirikiana na Bashir kuwakandamiza ndugu zetu wa Kusini mwa Sudan, basi anatutaka uadui. Bashir ataishia kwenye jela kama alivyoishia Charles Taylor.

JK asifanye kosa la kutugonganisha na Kenya kwa kuwa upande mmoja na wauaji wa Darfur.

 

[Mfwatiliaji]

Nimemuuliza jamaa mkenya kuhusu hili na hakulificha. Ameniambia wazi kuwa wanawasaidia wasouth katika kuingiza hizo zana.

 

[Ben Saanane]

Tanzania itafaidika vipi na kum-back up Bashiri na north Sudan? Labda kama serikali ingekua imeanzisha kampuni ya kuchimba mafuta huko,na hili linaweza kuja kuleta machafuko ktk ukanda huu siku za usoni maanke najua hata Museveni kwa dili za Biashara upande mmoja kati ya south na North yupo.


Tz inaweza kuja kukabiliana ana kwa ana na Kenya

 

[Masanja]

Hii topic ni very interesting.

Southern Sudan ipo ilipo leo kwa sababu ya Kenya na Uganda. Kenya imefanya juhudi kubwa sana kuleta amani kusini mwa Sudan. Kwa hiyo sitoshangaa kuona kwamba Kenya inawasaidia kutafuta silaha. Ukweli nikwamba Bashir na waarabu wenzake hawaaminiki. Ukienda Southern Sudan leo kila nyanja imeshikiliwa na wakenya iwe biashara hata kazi za ufagizi ni wakenya. Kenya imeshafungua na cansulate Juba!

Kuhusu ndoa ya JK na Bashir napenda kuamini kwamba JK yuko karibu na huyu jamaa kwa sababu ya nafasi yake kama mwenyekiti wa AU. Lakini ukweli ni kwamba TANZANIA tukiside na Bashir in anyway..we will end up as losers. Yule jamaa haeleweki harafu kibaya Bashir na wenzake wanajiita waafrika pale wanapotaka msaada wa waafrika kama sasa hivi na hii kesi inayomzunguka, vinginevyo hawa jamaa wanajiona waarabu wa Saudia.

My best bet would be, tujenge urafiki na Southern Sudan as Tanzanians we stand more to gain kwa sababu kama ni mafuta wanayo mengi sana na ni jamaa wanaotupenda. By all standards referendum ya 2011, Southern Sudan itajitenga na ikijitenga, basi Kenya ndo watakuwa kingmakers. kuna opportunities nyingi sana Southern Sudan..lakini as always Tanzanians are sleeping...mda si mda ndo wataanza kulalamikia influence ya Kenya within the region. Na surely I tell you, Southern Sudan is going to be a land of milk and honey, kwa tunaoijua!

All in all jamaa wetu wa kusini wameteseka sana dhidi ya huyu Bashir na waliomtangulia. I dont see why they should unite as one country. Mi ni mpenzi wa Nkurumah kwamba Africa iwe moja, lakini kwa Sudan? No way..those people suffered terribly under the same hands. Ndo maana leo wakipiga kura ya kujitenga, basi ujue ni 90%.

FYI: Kifo cha Garang ilikuwa ni blessing in disguise kwa sababu alikuwa anataka Sudan iwe kitu kimoja with his vision "NEW SUDAN" na kama angeendelea kuwa hai, Iam sure rebellion ingekuwa kubwa dhidi yake kwa wale wanaotaka total independence from the "Jallabas" in Khartoum!

 

[Jasusi]

Masanja,
Ni kweli Tanzania tumelala. Msaada wa kwanza kwa Southern Sudan ulitolewa na Mwalimu Nyerere in the 60's. Marehemu Garang alisomea Arusha, hata Kiswahili cha kubabaisha alikuwa akikimwaga. Wenzetu Kenya wameshupalia biashara na ndio watakaochuma baada ya Soothern Sudan kuwa huru.Sasa hivi wana benki mjini Juba na Kenya Airways imeshafanya mipango ya kusafiri katika miji mbalimbali ya Southern Sudan kukiwemo Rumbek na Juba.

 

[Augustine Moshi]

Lakini Tanzania tumewahi sana kuwa ndumakuwili huko Sudan. Kama alivyofichua Jasusi, Garang (RIP) kasomeshwa sanaa ya vita na Mwalimu. Hata hivyo, Mwalimu alikuwa karibu sana na Rais Nimeri kipindi fulani. Naamini kilikuwa kipindi ambacho yeyote aliyesema anajenga Ujamaa alikuwa kipenzi cha Mwalimu. (Naser, Siad Barre na Nimeri kwa sehemu ile ya Afrika)

Sasa JK naye kajaa tabasamu kwa Bashiri. Kisa? JK achana na huyo Bashiri. Ni Bucha Wa Darfur.

 

[Ben Saanane]

Mimi nasema Tanzania iangalie tu fursa za kibiashara,hata hivyo pia iangalie na itangulize ubinadamu mbele

 

[Zakumi]

Nchi za Afrika mashariki na maeneo ya maziwa makuu ndio masikini duniani na zenye matatizo ya kivita na bado resource nyingi zinatumika katika masuala ya kijeshi.

Kuna siku ilionyesha documentary ya mizozo ya Sudan na mabox ya risasi ya kutoka China kwenda Sudan ya kusini yalikuwa na maandishi WIZARA YA ULINZI TANZANIA. Je unafikiri serikali ya Tanzania ilihusika?

Nchi zetu zina viongozi corrupt. Na silaha kupitia Kenya sio kuonyesha kuwa waKenya wanawapenda sana waSudan wa kusini, lakini kuna uwezekano mkubwa viongozi fulani wa Kenya wakunywa uchache hili silaha zipitie kwao.

Na hata hapo Tanzania kuna mizigo ya silaha inapita kwenda sehemu zenye machafuko kwa kutumia jina la JWTZ.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Russia seeks go-ahead with attack​

The Russian destroyer Neustrashimy enroute to Somalia crosses the Suez Canal waterway at the south gate, about 100 km southeast of Cairo on Tuesday. The destroyer passed through the Suez Canal on Tuesday on its way to tackle piracy in the waters of Somalia, sources at the Suez Canal Authority said ​

By DOMINIC WABALA and AGENCIES
Posted Thursday, October 23 2008 at 21:11

Russia has asked Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government for permission to use force in its territorial waters to tackle piracy.

If granted, then the Russian warship, Neustrashimy, which is scheduled to arrive off the Somalia coast any time now, will launch a strike to repossess the Ukrainian ship, mv Faina, which was hijacked 29 days ago.

“To ensure freedom of actions to fight piracy directly in Somalia’s territorial waters, the Foreign Ministry of Russia has requested the agreement of the Interim Federal Government of the Somali Republic to grant the Russian Federation ‘cooperating state’ status,” the ministry said in a statement.

Improve maritime

The statement further said that Russia, in cooperation with other states, intends to undertake all measures sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council to improve maritime situation in the Gulf of Aden region.

The Russian warship was dispatched to the Gulf of Aden after the Ukrainian ship carrying weapons was hijacked last month.

Neustrashimy sailed through the Suez Canal on Monday on its way to the pirate-infested waters of Hobyo, according to Reuters news agency.

It joined six American warships and a similar number of Nato frigates already there, and will be joined later this year by a European Union fleet.

The Russian warship arrives as the Nato task force commander, US admiral Mark Fitzgerald, said it would be difficult to tackle the hijacking because pirates have to attack before it is confirmed that they are bandits.

Pirates have hijacked more than 30 ships this year and received ransoms totalling between 18 million and 30 million dollars, according to British think-tank- Chatam House.

Mr Fitzgerald said that while he was aware of where the pirates were operating, there was little he could do militarily to stop them.

Guidelines on how to take them on were yet to be issued by the North Atlantic council, which was working on the rules of engagement, he told reporters on Monday during a briefing on US naval operations in Europe and Africa.

Six Nato members have contributed warships to participate in the anti-piracy operations in what has now become the most dangerous waters in the world.

Security experts say there is a window of only about 15 minutes for a navy ship to respond to a distress call and get to another ship that is being hijacked. Once pirates are on board, there’s little, legally, that can be done.

Taken hostage

“You’ve got a very short window, a short time span, from the point where they decide to board a ship and (actually) board it. If you’re not right there, there’s not much you can do, and once the ship is taken hostage, then...”

A senior British naval commander admitted last week that it was essentially a legal minefield trying to take on the pirates, and urged commercial ships operating in the region to hire their own private security companies to deal with the threat.

Mr Fitzgerald said his task force would focus on escorting World Food Programme ships trying to deliver aid to Somalia. Meanwhile, the pirates are still holding the crew aboard the mv Faina.

DAILY NATION - Russia seeks go-ahead with attack

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Ukranian ship owners say talks on release jeopardised​

Updated 3 hr(s) 52 min(s) ago

By Cyrus Ombati and Agencies

Negotiations on the release of the Ukrainian ship have been jeopardised, ship owners have said.

The owners cited a move by Ukrainian MPs to request Kenya to help in negotiations.

"Attempted interference of third parties has endangered the negotiations," the administration of the Odessa-based Tomex Team Company said on the Internet.

It is the question of efforts taken by the Ukrainian Ombudswoman Nina Karpacheva, who had arrived in Kenya and taken "an uncoordinated attempt to start negotiations with the pirates," the company said.

The operator had indicated he wanted to negotiate only for the release of the vessel and crew of 20, not its cargo.

The pirates’ spokesman Sugule Ali said they received a fax from Viktor Murenko, the head of ship operator Tomex Team, saying Kenya had declined to pay ransom.

Meanwhile, relatives of the Ukrainian crewmembers said the money for the ransom had been raised.

The Somali Government has allowed Russian warships to stop pirates’ activities off Somalia, according to a letter from Somalia’s permanent representative to the United Nations Security Council chairman, released on Monday.

The Standard | Online Edition :: Ukranian ship owners say talks on release jeopardised

 

[X-PASTER]

Pirates have attacked and taken control of the Saudi-owned crude carrier Sirius Star off the east coast of Africa, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Navy Fifth Fleet says.

Lieutenant Nate Christensen's confirmation on Monday followed a statement saying that the super tanker, which is owned by Saudi Aramco, came under attack more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya.

The 318,000-tonne vessel, launched earlier this year, is flagged in Liberia and operated by Vela International.

"This represents a fundamental change in the ability of the pirates to be able to attack large vessels off the coast," Christensen told Al Jazeera.

"This attack is obviously so different because of the size of the the vessel - three times the size of a US aircraft carrier ... I dont have specifics as to what is happening now. The vessel itself is going to remain under pirates' control."

Crew members
The ship is carrying 25 crew members from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, the statement said.

Christensen said the fate of the crew was unknown.

He said the latest hijacking occurred despite a 25 per cent drop in attacks by pirates since August.

The International Maritime Bureau has reported that at least 83 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January, of which 33 were hijacked.

Of those, 12 vessels and more than 200 crew were still in the hands of pirates.

Will Geddes, a security specialist in London, said most people's conventional idea of what pirates are is a fairly ramshackled bunch "but these guys have very sophisticated navigation systems and very good weapons which they are sourcing out of places like Mogadishu".

"They are very well resourced and some of the water craft they are using are very high-powered water craft. So they really do have in mind very specific targets and they plan their assault very, very carefully," he told Al Jazeera.

European operation
Last week, the European Union started a security operation off the coast of Somalia, north of Kenya, to combat growing piracy and protect ships carrying aid agency deliveries.

It is the EU's first-ever naval mission.

Dubbed Operation Atlanta, the mission, endorsed by the bloc's defence ministers at talks in Brussels, is being led by Britain, with its headquarters in Northwood, near London.

Pirates are well organised in the area where Somalia's northeastern tip juts into the Indian Ocean, preying on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal through which an estimated 30 per cent of the world's oil transits.

They operate high-powered speedboats and are heavily armed, sometimes holding ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.

Nato warships, along with ships and aircraft from several other nations, have been deployed in the region to protect commercial shipping.

Somalia has had no effective government since the 1991 overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre, the former president, touched off a bloody power struggle that has defied numerous attempts to restore stability.

source: Somalian Pilates

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

The Sirius Star made its maiden voyage in March of this year
​

Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports.

The US-bound tanker was captured on Saturday some 450 nautical miles (830km) south-east of Mombasa, and is now approaching the Somali port of Eyl. BBC NEWS | Africa | Pirates capture Saudi oil tanker

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Indian Navy Destroys Pirate Boat as More Ships Taken​

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international naval presence off their lawless country.

The buccaneers have taken a Thai fishing boat, a Greek bulk carrier and a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading to Iran since Saturday's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the biggest ship hijacked in history.

The explosion of piracy off Somalia this year has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies divert around South Africa and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others.

"The pirates are sending out a message to the world that 'we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected'," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in Mombasa.

India's navy said one of its warships, INS Tabar, fought Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and destroyed their vessel after a brief battle late on Tuesday.

"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel," the navy said, adding that two speed boats sped away.

The International Maritime Bureau said pirates from the Horn of Africa nation had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew. That followed the capture of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain bound for Iran.

Mwangura's group said a Greek bulk carrier had also been seized, but an official at Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry told Reuters in Athens that no such incident had been recorded.

DAILY NATION - Indian navy destroys pirate boat as more ships taken

 

[mbarikiwa]

Inasikitisha kuwa magaidi wote ni wafuasi wa dini ya mila za kiarabu.

 

[Yona F. Maro]

hiyo ni biashara kubwa sasa hivi , sasa iran wakae mkao wa kula na nchi zingine za asia na waarabu kuhusu biashara katika eneo hilo kuanguka kwa masoko kumeleta mabadiliko sana

 

[The Truth]

Indian Navy Destroys Pirate Boat as More Ships Taken​

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international naval presence off their lawless country.

The buccaneers have taken a Thai fishing boat, a Greek bulk carrier and a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading to Iran since Saturday's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the biggest ship hijacked in history.

The explosion of piracy off Somalia this year has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies divert around South Africa and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others.

"The pirates are sending out a message to the world that 'we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected'," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in Mombasa.

India's navy said one of its warships, INS Tabar, fought Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and destroyed their vessel after a brief battle late on Tuesday.

"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel," the navy said, adding that two speed boats sped away.

The International Maritime Bureau said pirates from the Horn of Africa nation had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew. That followed the capture of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain bound for Iran.

Mwangura's group said a Greek bulk carrier had also been seized, but an official at Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry told Reuters in Athens that no such incident had been recorded.

DAILY NATION*- Indian navy destroys pirate boat as more ships taken

Kudos to the Indian navy for a job well done.

 

[Shadow]

Haya Jamani, Natumaini jeshi letu lina meli za kuweza kupambana na hawa maharamia! Manake madhara yaletwayo na pirates ni makubwa kwa uchumi wa Tanzania.

Shadow
CNN) -- A Dutch-operated container ship outran pirates off the coast of Tanzania this weekend, an official with the International Maritime Bureau said Sunday.


French soldiers, who have joined British, Indian, Russian and American patrols off Somalia, during an exercise.

The incident took place "very far out to sea," showing that Somali-based pirates are extending their reach further and further, Noel Choong of the IMB's Piracy Reporting Center told CNN.

"Earlier attacks were on ships off the coast of Somalia, then off the coast of Kenya, and now this was 450 nautical miles off Dar es Salaam," he said, tracing the southward expansion of the pirates' area of operations.

The ship, which Choong declined to name, came under attack from rocket-propelled grenades, starting a fire on board, he said. The crew was able to put out the fire and escape by increasing speed.

The ship and crew are now out of danger, he said, following the incident at 11:42 GMT Saturday.

Piracy has become increasingly common in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean this year. So far, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off Somalia's coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the center.

Don't Miss
Special: Piracy
Luxury cruise ship outruns pirates
Suspected pirates turned over to Yemen
No way to stop us, pirate leader says
Those hijacked vessels include an enormous oil tanker, a chemical tanker, and a ship laden with Soviet-era arms including tanks. The pirates normally hold the ships for ransom.

A luxury cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew successfully outran pirates off the coast of Yemen last weekend.

The IMB has tracked at least 11 incidents of actual or attempted piracy near the Tanzanian coast this year.

A multinational fleet, including vessels from the U.S., NATO member states, Russia and India, has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year. Watch anti-piracy vessels patrol the region. »


In a recent interview provided to CNN, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate.

"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
Cargo ship outruns pirates off Tanzania - CNN.com

 

[Mwawado]

Ni kweli kwamba Jana Usiku (Jumamosi),Meli ya ki-dutch ilishambuliwa na Pirates umbali wa Miles zisizozidi 450 kaskazini ya pwani ya Dar-es-salaam,Kwa mujibu wa Taarifa zilizopatikana Makao makuu ya Jeshi (JWTZ),Wavamiaji hao (Pirates) walikuwa katika maboti madogo manne,na walitumia silaha nzito kama Hand Grenade na AK-47.

Waziri wa Ulinzi ametaarifiwa tukio hilo,na Mkuu wa majeshi amekutana na wasaidizi wake asubuhi ya leo (Jumapili) na kuliagiza Jeshi la maji,kufanya patrol katika eneo zima la Pwani ya Tanzania huku mazungumzo ya pamoja kati ya Jeshi la Tanzania na Kenya yakitarajiwa kufanyika Jumanne kuzungumzia suala zima la Ulinzi wa Pwani hiyo.

Taarifa rasmi kuhusu tukio hilo itatolewa Jumatatu na Wizara ya ulinzi.Taarifa hii sio rasmi lakini imetoka kwa mmoja wa Viongozi ndani ya Wizara ya Ulinzi,kwa kuwa mtoa Taarifa si msemaji wa Wizara jina lake sitoliweka wazi.

 

[Mwanjelwa]

Hawa jamaa nasoma kuwaelewa lakini wapi! Yaani wanapata wapi Mafuta ya ku-propel fast moving engines that far offshore? Engine yenye horse power 75 inakula litre 200 kati ya Zanzibar and Dar kwa mwendo wa kawaida. Sasa hawa jamaa wanakuwa na litre ngapi huko baharini kwa umbali huo? Je wanabebaje? Je, huo uharamia wao wanatutia satellite ku-track ships au wanabahatisha? This is very strange!

Kwa kweli hata sijapata picha yenyewe. tafadhali mwenye kujua atuelezee kwa data.

 

[Kaa la Moto]

Jamani si wanasema tuna jeshi lisilo na mchezo?
Sasa hapa kazi ianze na tuone kama kweli jeshi letu linaweza kujivuna kufanya kazi hasa kwa kuzamisha hata boti moja tu ya maharamia. Hapo nitakuwa nimewaaminia jeshi letu. La sivyo tutabaki na jeshi la wanamaji lisilo na meno ambalo lipo kula kodi yetu tu.
hatuwezi kukubali wasomali hawa wasio na kitu kutuchezea maana hii sasa ni dharau kabisa!.
Naamin iko siku watakuja wanazifukuza hadi Dar au Pemba maana wanajua may be hatuna meno ya kuwauma😡