Security

Pirates Hit Six More Ships Off of Somalia

As if seizing a ship-load of tanks and small arms wasn’t bad enough. Pirates have attacked six more vessels off the coast of Somalia in just the past week, according to data from NATO. The now-infamous, weapons-clogged MV Faina remains in pirates’ hands. And international tensions are ratcheting up by the day. The latest attacks […]

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As if seizing a ship-load of tanks and small arms wasn't bad enough. Pirates have attacked six more vessels off the coast of Somalia in just the past week, according to data from NATO. The now-infamous, weapons-clogged MV Faina remains in pirates' hands. And international tensions are ratcheting up by the day.

The latest attacks brings the total number of "piracy-related incidents" in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast to 93. A dozen vessels are currently being held for ransom -- their last known whereabouts are on the NATO slide, above.

"Larger cargo/oil/gas/chemical tankers" are now the pirates' favorite target. The idea isn't just to make money off of a single attack. Often, the vessels are being hijacked "with the sole intention of using them" as "mother ships," to launch more small-boat strikes.

Often, the Islamic militants battling the Somali government benefit from the operations. The Al Shabaab group "received a five per cent cut of the
$1.5 million paid out for a Spanish ship released several months ago,"
the *Telegraph *reports. But this time, the pirates allegedly dissed the insurgents.

"Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the [*MV Faina] *but the pirates rejected their demands," an unnamed local official tells the paper.

Maybe that's because there's now a Russian frigate closing in on the hijacked vessel "and a half-dozen U.S. warships within shouting distance," as the AP notes.

What exactly happens next is anyone's guess. "They have enough guns to fight for another 20 years," Ted
Dagne, a Somalia analyst in Washington, tells the AP. "And there is no way to win a battle when the other side is in a suicidal mindset." Plus, they've got hostages. (The U.S. Navy released this picture of them, below.) Waco-on-the-high-seas, anyone?

Hostagelarge2

Last week, however, the pirates seemed game to negotiate for the ship. But now, the Kenyan government has arrested the man at the center of the talks. Officials accused Andrew
Mwangura of the Seafarers Assistance Program over being overly-cozy with the pirates.

"Critics of the arrest, however, say Mr. Mwangura was arrested because he revealed that the hijacked arms were bound for Southern Sudan, which is under a UN arms embargo, and not Kenya," AllAfrica.com notes.

(Photo: via MarineLog; good catch: EagleSpeak)

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