Am I the only one who didn't know....

[Skint Gull]

..... that Pirates still existed?

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

That's quite MENTAL!

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

 

[strings]

 

[cardboard]

It happens a lot in the far east but will become more and more common elsewhere.

Pretty frightening really

 

[Nottseagull]

..... that Pirates still existed?

Probably. It's commonplace in SE Asia, but reports have increased dramatically in recent years because the vessels targetted have been getting larger and larger. An attempt was made a few months ago on a large passenger cruise ship.

 

[London Calling]

Pretty common on the African east and west coast.

Amnesty Internation believe a huge number of refugees are lost due to the pirates.

 

[London Calling]

..... that Pirates still existed?

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

That's quite MENTAL!

Only last week British Commandoes fought and killed Pirates.

 

[strings]

It is beginning more common and the pirates have been getting better because they have invested their earnings in better weapons, expensive GPS and very good speedboats. It is worrying stuff.

 

[Skint Gull]

How the f*** do you get away with stealing a f***ing great oil liner? I mean it's not exactly the quickest or most inconspicuios (sp) of vehicles now is it?

And where do you actually flog the stuff, I mean who buys knocked off barrels of oil?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

How the f*** do you get away with stealing a f***ing great oil liner? I mean it's not exactly the quickest or most inconspicuios (sp) of vehicles now is it?

And where do you actually flog the stuff, I mean who buys knocked off barrels of oil?

They don't do it to sell the cargo, they get a ransom for the crew / vessel / cargo, and disappear.

 

[strings]

How the f*** do you get away with stealing a f***ing great oil liner? I mean it's not exactly the quickest or most inconspicuios (sp) of vehicles now is it?

And where do you actually flog the stuff, I mean who buys knocked off barrels of oil?

They park it off the Somalian coast and wait for a ransom for the release of the boat to be agreed. Then they go and do the same thing to another boat.

More often than not they get their ransom money - even though the Royal Navy are heading up an internation task force to stop this sort of occurence. The owers are too worried about the value of the cargo and their boat and will normally pay up. Interestingly, it is very rare for crew members of the ships to be harmed - they are supposedly treated fairly well be the pirates.

 

[Simster]

What price the UN goes in to provide some LAW in Somalia at some point?(when enough hijacked tankers are in Somali ports).

 

[coventrygull]

Think you lot are missing an opportunity down on the south coast. I am not sure if pirates on canals would work up here

 

[strings]

Think you lot are missing an opportunity down on the south coast. I am not sure if pirates on canals would work up here

Brilliant idea - I would LOVE to hijact an Isle of Wight ferry!

I doubt highjacking a canal boat in Wolverhampton would be as effective.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Of course pirates exist! Otherwise why do you think Google allow you to set pirate as the default search language?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Even at today's bargain-give-away prices for crude oli, the cargo is worth $116 million.

Interesting that the quantity of oil on board is quoted as "a quarter of the entire daily output of Saudi Arabia". I guess this is supposed to make us think it's a significant loss to someone. If it was described as "an amount of oil that can be replaced with just six hours drilling", we might not be as bothered.

 

[crasher]

Probably. It's commonplace in SE Asia, but reports have increased dramatically in recent years because the vessels targetted have been getting larger and larger. An attempt was made a few months ago on a large passenger cruise ship.

The thing I don't understand (genuinely) is how do they get on these huge ships.

They come up behind on a fast speedboat and then there's a 100 ft up to the deck of the oil tanker. So how do they climb up?

That's what been bothering me all day.

 

[Whitterz]

Pirates have always existed. They operate all the time, capturing vessels full of imported goods, weapons, drugs ect. They are just never covered very widey in the media. The only reason this has been covered is because it is a large vessel, containing vast amounts of oil, and holding two British crew.
Most of them are opportunist thieves, boarding ships, and looting what they can before escaping. This lot are armed with assault rifles, grenade launchers etc.

 

[Robot Chicken]

It is beginning more common and the pirates have been getting better because they have invested their earnings in better weapons, expensive GPS and very good speedboats. It is worrying stuff.

What a pity they didn't take a note of their forebears and bury their earnings on uninhabited islands.

 

[Whitterz]

Nothing high tech. They use grappling hooks and rope ladders, much the same a depicted in all the pirate films you see.

And no I'm not joking.