Somali pirates grab Ukrainain ship loaded with tanks
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wow these time they struck gold....no escort, no guards. Russia is now joining the patrol.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali pirates have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying more than 30 tanks to Kenya and Russia said on Friday it was sending a warship to combat piracy in the region.
The U.N. World Food Program said Canada had extended its naval escorts of food aid shipments for another month.
Pirates have captured more than 30 vessels off Somalia this year, making its waters the most dangerous in the world and threatening a globally important shipping lane between Europe and Asia. The gangs seek, and often receive, large ransoms.
The Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program said the Ukrainian ship, sailing under a Belize flag, was seized on Thursday.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov, quoted by the news agency Interfax Ukraine, said its cargo included 33 T-72 tanks being sold to Kenya under a legal contract.
He told reporters in Kiev that the cargo included grenade launchers and ammunition.
"All this is being sold in full accordance with Ukrainian legislation," Yekhanurov was quoted as saying.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua confirmed that the military equipment was destined for Kenya
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a ship carry heavy arms get attack by pirates? wth.....
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imagine the possiblilities.... they somehow learn how to use the tanks....
10 tanks for spares, the rest for combat.... they can win back mogadishu,.... and ethiopia would be abit hard pressed too... t-55s rite?
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You would have thought that a ship carrying such expensive equipment would have better escorts....
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Originally posted by arball:
imagine the possiblilities.... they somehow learn how to use the tanks....
10 tanks for spares, the rest for combat.... they can win back mogadishu,.... and ethiopia would be abit hard pressed too... t-55s rite?
i think if they can get it unload from the shipped. the rest is just time. how difficult do you think this is going to be? Very soon you see the tank wayang on the street. -
jackpot!!!! heng T72 nia... but still good enough lah.......
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Eh! The RMN didn't go an counter-hijack ah? They'll need the parts leh!
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Originally posted by Shotgun:
Eh! The RMN didn't go an counter-hijack ah? They'll need the parts leh!
now they dont need mah.
palm oil prices are high ! thats why they can afford all the EC725s. im betting that part of the ec725 deal will be paid for in palm oil.
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Sheesh. If those buggers drive the tanks the same way they drive taxis, we'll have absolutely nothing to worry about.
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Originally posted by Gedanken:
Sheesh. If those buggers drive the tanks the same way they drive taxis, we'll have absolutely nothing to worry about.
What if those guys drive their tanks like how they drive their kanchils down the NS highway? We'd be overrun in no time!
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Nah. Abdi will spend half an hour looking at the street directory trying to figure which way is south. He'll head 5 klicks down the road before deciding he's going the wrong way. Then he'll suddenly make a u-turn to go the other way, in the process T-boning his mate Ibn in the other tank. They'll spend the next few hours standing at the roadside swearing black and blue that the other guy was in the wrong, by which time the war will be over without them harming anyone or themselves.
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I honestly thought you were gonna say that they would make too many pit stops at all the makan places. Heh!
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Shotgun, if you ever come to Melbourne, hop in a cab and you'll see exactly what I mean. These guys are challenged to operate anything more complicated than an ox cart.
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Thats cos its the Ox thats driving wad... they just nudge it in the direction to go...
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Good point. If I got the ox to drive the cab, I'd get home more quickly and cheaply.
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isn't pirates sort of like terrorism, as in they terrorise the sea? shouldn't the US sent their fighter jets and blow up all the pirate ship in the somelia region? what if osama is on those ships?
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time to send in the Spetsnaz for some live demonstration
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The last time the Spetznaz mounted a rescue operation... a whole bunch of civvies got gassed. They might as well use the ship as target practice for their Akula2s.
Given their situation, it might be wise to siege them in. I don't believe they have THAT much food.
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More update on the T-72s held hostage...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/world/africa/30pirate.html?em
DU rounds nia... thought what.
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Originally posted by skythewood:
isn’t pirates sort of like terrorism, as in they terrorise the sea? shouldn’t the US sent their fighter jets and blow up all the pirate ship in the somelia region? what if osama is on those ships?
Lol....the somalis probably will kill osama and collect the reward from USA. Give no quarter. -
Actually, one solution is getting A-10s in to strafe the ship. It won't sink it, but its gonna hurt a lot of people in it, AND the tanks as well. =D
I doubt those idiots are dumb enough to transport the tanks fully loaded for combat, so there shouldn't be too much secondaries.
They like DU, give them 30mm DU. =D
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If a skinny gets lucky with an RPG-7, it'll be Black Hawk Down all over again. A Superbug with a single Harpoon would do the job perfectly.
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I thought the Malaysians are over there?
I hope they can do something .....
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Originally posted by Gedanken:
If a skinny gets lucky with an RPG-7, it'll be Black Hawk Down all over again. A Superbug with a single Harpoon would do the job perfectly.
Dood! The idea is not to sink the ship! Besides, A-10s have taken multiple SAM hits before and flew home to get patched up by the week.
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alamak.
since terrorists arent legal combatants of war. why dont they just GAS the ship with sarin or Vx or anthrax ?
gotta kill em all :) too bad the crew would be collateral damage.