Royal Navy Repels Pirate Attack

The headline is one that might have appeared in the very first edition of The Times. However, it comes from the news of 2008. On Tuesday, Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed that crew-members of the HMS Cumberland shot dead two suspected Somali pirates while trying to board their dhow. A third man, a Yemeni national, later died of wounds received in the incident. A tot of rum for the entire crew is in order.

The Yemeni-flagged dhow had earlier been involved in an attack on a Danish ship, the MV Powerful. The Cumberland caught up to the dhow and endeavored to stop it. Failing to do that, the captain launched sea boats and encircled the dhow. The pirates fired at the sailors in the sea boats. The British returned fire, and the pirates surrendered.

An MoD spokesman stated, “Two foreign nationals, believed to be Somali pirates, were shot and killed in self-defence. A Yemeni national was also found injured and later died, despite receiving emergency treatment from the ship's doctor. It is unclear whether his injuries were as a result of the fire-fight or a previous incident involving the pirates.”

The BBC reported, “Details of the incident emerged when Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo revealed the frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless), from its Baltic Sea Fleet, had also tried to rescue the Danish vessel MV Powerful. He said the two warships repelled the attempted raid after the pirates fired weapons at the Danish ship and twice tried to board it.”

Piracy isn't the romantic profession that Hollywood and Peter Pan have made it seem. It is theft, kidnapping and murder. Pirates have hijacked 33 ships this year, twice last year's levels, and 12 of those 33 remain in pirate hands. Ransoms paid are much higher. Cargo carriers pay higher insurance rates because of piracy, and humanitarian relief doesn't get to the needy, possibly causing hundreds, even thousands, of deaths.

Meanwhile, a Turkish-flagged ship, the Karagol, fell to pirates on Wednesday. This problem isn't going to go away until there is a government in Somalia that can stop it. Until then, the Royal Navy along with the Russians, Americans and other Europeans will have to step up their patrols and increase their presence in the area.



© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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