Green Energy
Danger Room gives us a glimpse into a possible future option to the Somali conundrum:
- Pirates - 0 Msc Melody - 1
Imagine, you finally get to take that trip of a lifetime. The one you saved and scrimped for. You're out on the beautiful blue waters, lounging by the pool, drinking your cocktail and you look up in time to see, PIRATES. You know damn well they weren't...
- Irate Pirates Vow Retaliation
So arm the fucking crews. They have a right to self defense and self preservation as much as anyone. Why is anyone pissing around with these fucking nitwits? See a speedboat/raft approaching? 1 warning shot in front of the bow then shoot to fucking kill...
- Breaking: Somali Pirates Seize Us Vessel
CNN and FOX are reporting that a US-flagged cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, on route to Kenya, has been captured by Somali pirates off the African coast. Crew of 21, all Americans. Obambi going to refer that to the UN, is he? UPDATE FROM PASTORIUS:...
- Allah Be Praised!!
5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the...
- Islamists Plunder Weapons From Hijacked Ship In Somalia
From the Times Online: Islamist extremists prepared last night to unload rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns from a Ukrainian freighter seized by Somali pirates even as foreign warships surrounded the vessel.A US destroyer and submarine...
Green Energy
An Aussie Solution!
Danger Room gives us a glimpse into a possible future option to the Somali conundrum:What’s the best way to avoid Somali pirates? Well, if you’re traveling in a high-speed catamaran, it helps to hit the gas.Do you think Capt. Cartman would enjoy this vessel???
The wave-piercing catamaran Norman Arrow, built by Australian ship manufacturer Incat, recently traveled through the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia en route to a new homeport in the United Kingdom. And while the ship did not encounter any pirates, the crew piloting the vessel was not taking any chances.
According to a company news release, the Norman Arrow boosted its speed from cruising speed to 30 knots — high speed, but not maximum speed — for the most dangerous sections off the Somali coast; the crew also secured the crew cabin, posted extra lookouts and gave small boats a wide berth. If the crew encountered pirate attack, said Captain Guy South, the plan was this: “All the crew would go to the electronics room, the fourth engine would be run up and we’d run away.”
While the crew of the Norman Arrow didn’t see any pirates, a ship sailing about four hours ahead on the same route was attacked with rocket propelled grenades. The crew also observed about half a dozen warships in the area, most likely belonging to the multinational Combined Task Force 151 operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.
Incat, which manufactures high-speed car ferries, has also seen a significant amount of interest in its ships for military missions. In recent years, the U.S. military has experimented with a number of high-speed ships; the HSV-X1 Joint Venture and the HSV-2 Swift, both manufactured by Incat, have already been used to support logistics operations in the Horn of Africa, the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia. The Swift also took part in relief operations in Indonesia and in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina. The Navy’s new budget request includes funds for two more high-speed vessels.
Aluminum-hulled high-speed ships are not meant to take a beating like a traditional naval vessel (I recall Rear Adm. Jay Cohen, former director of the Office of Naval Research, describing experimental ships as “things that go fast and sink when you punch a hole in them”), but their high speed and shallow draft make them ideal for delivering supplies to primitive ports.
- Pirates - 0 Msc Melody - 1
Imagine, you finally get to take that trip of a lifetime. The one you saved and scrimped for. You're out on the beautiful blue waters, lounging by the pool, drinking your cocktail and you look up in time to see, PIRATES. You know damn well they weren't...
- Irate Pirates Vow Retaliation
So arm the fucking crews. They have a right to self defense and self preservation as much as anyone. Why is anyone pissing around with these fucking nitwits? See a speedboat/raft approaching? 1 warning shot in front of the bow then shoot to fucking kill...
- Breaking: Somali Pirates Seize Us Vessel
CNN and FOX are reporting that a US-flagged cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, on route to Kenya, has been captured by Somali pirates off the African coast. Crew of 21, all Americans. Obambi going to refer that to the UN, is he? UPDATE FROM PASTORIUS:...
- Allah Be Praised!!
5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the...
- Islamists Plunder Weapons From Hijacked Ship In Somalia
From the Times Online: Islamist extremists prepared last night to unload rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns from a Ukrainian freighter seized by Somali pirates even as foreign warships surrounded the vessel.A US destroyer and submarine...