Piracy Report: Got very rough last week!
 

I follow these reports on a weekly basis. This is one of
the worst weeks I've seen in a long time. Hope it is not
the start of a trend... Bill

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast
by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic,
Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service
of Inmarsat-C from 31 May to 6 June 2005:

May 22, 2005 at 1500 LT, at posn 03:42N 48:16E, Eastern
coast, Somalia.

Pirates boarded and hijacked a general cargo ship underway.
They beat up the 21 crewmembers and locked them in a room.
Pirates have demanded ransom for releasing the ship and the
crew. Further news is awaited.

May 31, 2005 at 0230 LT, deep water anchorage "A", 10nm
south of Basra oil terminal, Iraq.

Pirates armed with ak47 rifles boarded a tanker awaiting
berthing. They tried to enter bridge claiming to be police-
men. Master denied them entry and pirates became violent
and broke glass panels on bridge wing door and entered bridge.
They assaulted the master causing him injuries and demanded
money. They entered master's cabin and located the safe and
stole cash and personal belongings. They dragged the master
and tried to take him to main deck and left at 0240. Master
sent a mayday message and activated SSAS and moved to deep
water anchorage "B". Later a coalition warship arrived to
investigate.

June 1, 2005 at 2000 LT in position 04:15N - 100:18E, off
Pangkor island, Malacca Straits.

Eight pirates armed with automatic guns and long knives
fired warning shots at a tanker underway. They boarded
and kidnapped master and boatswain and left in a fishing
boat with ship's documents. The Second Officer navigated
the tanker safely to a port. Pirates have demanded ransom
for releasing the crew. Further news is awaited.

June 6, 2005 at 1535 UTC in position 02:23N - 046:07E, off
Mogadishu, Somalia.

Three pirates armed with automatic guns in a white speed-
boat opened fire on a bulk carrier underway. USS Gonzalez,
a US naval ship in the area responded to a distress call
from the master and came close to assist. USS Gonzalez fired
parachute flares and directed searchlights to illuminate the
area and escorted the bulk carrier to a safer location away
from Somali coast. No injuries to crew but gunfire by pirates
caused 10 bullet holes on starboard side near bridge.

On 8 Jun 2005 11:55:27 -0700, wrote:


Eight pirates armed with automatic guns and long knives
fired warning shots at a tanker underway. They boarded
and kidnapped master and boatswain and left in a fishing
boat with ship's documents. The Second Officer navigated
the tanker safely to a port. Pirates have demanded ransom
for releasing the crew. Further news is awaited.

Any day now, a pirated supertanker or worse, an LNG carrier, will run
aground in the Malacca Straits or blow up near a city due to this
lawlessness. The so-called War on Terror should include piracy in
these areas, because a few strafing runs will kill enough of these
*******s to discourage the rest.

Thanks for the update. I am thinking my eventual circumnavigation will
miss a few more "beauty spots".

R.

rhys wrote:


Any day now, a pirated supertanker or worse, an LNG carrier, will run
aground in the Malacca Straits or blow up near a city due to this
lawlessness. The so-called War on Terror should include piracy in
these areas, because a few strafing runs will kill enough of these
*******s to discourage the rest.

Thanks for the update. I am thinking my eventual circumnavigation will
miss a few more "beauty spots".

R.


So tell me ...... just how would you go about "blowing up" a supertanker
full of crude, or an LNG ship?

otn

otnmbrd wrote in
ink.net:

So tell me ...... just how would you go about "blowing up" a supertanker
full of crude, or an LNG ship?



http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/Lebedbomb.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76990,00.html
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...3/171536.shtml
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_nuclear_suitcase.php
http://www.rotten.com/library/crime/...s/suitcase-nuk
es/
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=43741
http://www.calguard.ca.gov/ia/Nukes/Index-Nukes.htm

All it takes is money.....

otnmbrd wrote:
rhys wrote:
Any day now, a pirated supertanker or worse, an LNG carrier, will run
aground in the Malacca Straits or blow up near a city due to this
lawlessness. The so-called War on Terror should include piracy in
these areas, because a few strafing runs will kill enough of these
*******s to discourage the rest.

....
So tell me ...... just how would you go about "blowing up" a supertanker
full of crude, or an LNG ship?


My home berth is a few hundred yards from the local LNG berth. A
tanker comes in every few days with much fanfare, security zones, etc.
Every now and then there's a report about how much of the city would
be obliterated if she blew, but I've been told that the best guess is
that an explosion would not be too disastrous.

It was also claimed that it would be difficult to actually explode the
LNG from water level, but then it was realized that the tanks are
not very strong or protected on the top. Since then, the Tobin Bridge
(aka Mystic River Bridge) is closed while the tanker goes under.

Since I have to pass within about 50 feet of the tanker to get out of
my marina, I've made sure that the local police and harbor masters
know me and my boat. Its much better to be boarded for a friendly
"looksee" at the dock than a formal "safety inspection" on the water.

Larry W4CSC wrote:
otnmbrd wrote in
ink.net:


So tell me ...... just how would you go about "blowing up" a supertanker
full of crude, or an LNG ship?




http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/Lebedbomb.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76990,00.html
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...3/171536.shtml
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_nuclear_suitcase.php
http://www.rotten.com/library/crime/...s/suitcase-nuk
es/
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=43741
http://www.calguard.ca.gov/ia/Nukes/Index-Nukes.htm

All it takes is money.....

Ya ..... so what does that have to do with blowing up a ULCC or LNG
ship and what would you need one of them for if you're using a "nuke"?

Jeff wrote:



My home berth is a few hundred yards from the local LNG berth. A tanker
comes in every few days with much fanfare, security zones, etc. Every
now and then there's a report about how much of the city would be
obliterated if she blew, but I've been told that the best guess is that
an explosion would not be too disastrous.

It was also claimed that it would be difficult to actually explode the
LNG from water level, but then it was realized that the tanks are not
very strong or protected on the top. Since then, the Tobin Bridge (aka
Mystic River Bridge) is closed while the tanker goes under.

Since I have to pass within about 50 feet of the tanker to get out of my
marina, I've made sure that the local police and harbor masters know me
and my boat. Its much better to be boarded for a friendly "looksee" at
the dock than a formal "safety inspection" on the water.

I am not a proponent of LNG terminals such as this one.
However, pierce the tank and (from all that I've read) you won't get an
explosion. What you will get is an immediate release of a gas cloud as
the LNG turns to gas, which, once it disperses to a particular level (as
in 1944) will undoubtedly find a source of ignition and create a rather
nasty fireball.
When I think of that terminal, I always remember the big gas tank along
the SE Expressway near Dorchester/Neponset......... BG.

Question still stands..... noting that in the Case of LNG, there are a
number of LNG terminals which could/should be better located.

otn

Jeff wrote in :

My home berth is a few hundred yards from the local LNG berth. A
tanker comes in every few days with much fanfare, security zones, etc.
Every now and then there's a report about how much of the city would
be obliterated if she blew, but I've been told that the best guess is
that an explosion would not be too disastrous.


I used to work a lot of electronics contracts for US Navy back in the 70s
and 80s. At Norfolk Navy Base, directly next door to the destroyer docks,
there was ALWAYS a Soviet grain ship loading from the grain elevators to
take home to the latest failed 5-year plan.

The XO of the USS Adams caught me screwing off in my AMEX Systems coveralls
on his main deck one day and asked what I was thinking about watching the
Soviet ship. "I'm wondering where and how many nuclear weapons she has
hidden away in the voids in her bilge.", I said pointing out the Soviet
ship. "Sure would make a big dent in the Navy on the East Coast, wouldn't
it?", I continued. "Wonder what frequency they are monitoring where the
instructions will come to set it off?"

All the ships were in port that day. Big carriers, whole squadrons of
cruisers, destroyers, auxiliaries. We didn't learn a damned thing from
Pearl Harbor in '41. Stupid just letting the damned Soviets anywhere near
the entrance to the harbor!



--
Larry

You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and your outlined in
chalk.

otnmbrd wrote in
nk.net:

Question still stands..... noting that in the Case of LNG, there are a
number of LNG terminals which could/should be better located.


A long time ago, PBS showed some Air Force films of an anti-personnel gas
bomb that was just a propane tank, a puncture device to spray liquid
propane into the air, and a timer that fired a little ignition system with
a Champion Spark Plug, which I found amusing.

The timer let the cloud of liquid gas evaporate and expand before buzzing
the spark plug to set it off. They tested it in heavily-forested military
land with a herd of sheep to see how it worked. The sheep simply exploded
at some amazing distance from the blast. You could see the blast's shock
wave expanding as the forest trees near the blast were laid waste while
trees further out were simply waved really hard to and fro as it passed
them. This test only detonated ONE propane bomb....

Most impressive for such a simple device. The canister was about 100# of
propane. Wonder how big the shockwave would be from a whole LNG carrier,
say in a big harbor like Charleston or Norfolk.

How stupid we all are to let it dock.....



--
Larry

You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and your outlined in
chalk.

Larry W4CSC wrote:
otnmbrd wrote in
nk.net:


Question still stands..... noting that in the Case of LNG, there are a
number of LNG terminals which could/should be better located.



A long time ago, PBS showed some Air Force films of an anti-personnel gas
bomb that was just a propane tank, a puncture device to spray liquid
propane into the air, and a timer that fired a little ignition system with
a Champion Spark Plug, which I found amusing.

The timer let the cloud of liquid gas evaporate and expand before buzzing
the spark plug to set it off. They tested it in heavily-forested military
land with a herd of sheep to see how it worked. The sheep simply exploded
at some amazing distance from the blast. You could see the blast's shock
wave expanding as the forest trees near the blast were laid waste while
trees further out were simply waved really hard to and fro as it passed
them. This test only detonated ONE propane bomb....

Most impressive for such a simple device. The canister was about 100# of
propane. Wonder how big the shockwave would be from a whole LNG carrier,
say in a big harbor like Charleston or Norfolk.

How stupid we all are to let it dock.....

Propane is far more dangerous than LNG - its light weight means that
it will stay on the surface before igniting. A propane storage
facility was quietly removed from my area when it was realized that it
was a larger liability than the LNG.