[Dreamtwister]

They're ransoming the tanks? Oh my god! Are these the stupidest pirates in history or what? Don't the Ukrainians have special forces?

If I were these guys, the first thing I would have done is rolled the tanks onto inflatable liferafts, inflated them, then scuttled the ship out from under them. I would have rowed them to shore *away* from a town, painted them brown and drove them into the desert.

The next thing I would have done is sent out 2 representitives out. One to the President of Somalia, and another to the leader of the ICU. I would have sold them to the highest bidder, and gotten the hell out of dodge.

[lateStarter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', 'T')hey're ransoming the tanks? Oh my god! Are these the stupidest pirates in history or what? Don't the Ukrainians have special forces?
If I were these guys, the first thing I would have done is rolled the tanks onto inflatable liferafts, inflated them, then scuttled the ship out from under them. I would have rowed them to shore *away* from a town, painted them brown and drove them into the desert.
The next thing I would have done is sent out 2 representitives out. One to the President of Somalia, and another to the leader of the ICU. I would have sold them to the highest bidder, and gotten the hell out of dodge.

[smallpoxgirl]

I wouldn't be so sure they don't have diesel.

August 20, 2008 - Somali pirates hijack oil tanker landen with palm oil.

Biodiesel tank anyone?

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateStarter', 'F')irst, if there was such a thing as an 'inflatable life raft' that could support a tank, I doubt it would be available to Somali prates.

[BigTex]

The window of opportunity to off-load the tanks in a discreet manner has probably closed.

From here on, their booty is likely to be a curse.

They should have laid low during "talk like a pirate week."

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'T')he window of opportunity to off-load the tanks in a discreet manner has probably closed.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', 'I') have to agree. Chalk it up as a missed opportunity for them, probably a fatal one.

[vtsnowedin]

Dream twister your dreams are indeed turned around a bit
Lets see now ,assuming they have a crane on board to lift a 40 ton tank over the side and computing water displacement at 62.4 lbs per cubic foot your going to need a raft drawing two feet of water twenty feet wide and thirtyfive feet long. Might want to make the sides four or five feet higher to give you some free board and make it a bit bigger for the weight of the crew and what ever propels it.Ripping stresses in the material the bag is made of might be a tad high but with modern materials why worry?? I'm sure the pirates can call Cabelas and they will ship them just the thing next day air.

[Ragnarok_RO]

Come on guys... a little more imagination

Move from ship to barge with a crane, move from barge to port with another crane. I'd be surprised if they didn't do that already. Look at yourselves... if the seals do shit with inflatables on the discovery channel, it doesn't mean somali pirates can't find a low tech way to do it. 40 or 50 tons for a barge isn't that much, and it's just a short ride into port.

And nobody is going after them, 'cause piracy would have been enough of an offense to warrant action. If it didn't spur anyone into coercive action, neither will this. The ukrainians won't do shit, since they are always too drunk to do shit anyways. Face it: those pirates could become a force to be reckoned with, unless they're too stupid for it.

[Dreamtwister]

Vtsnowedin, go back and reread my posts.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', 'T')hey're ransoming the tanks? Oh my god! Are these the stupidest pirates in history or what? Don't the Ukrainians have special forces?
If I were these guys, the first thing I would have done is rolled the tanks onto inflatable liferafts, inflated them, then scuttled the ship out from under them. I would have rowed them to shore *away* from a town, painted them brown and drove them into the desert.
The next thing I would have done is sent out 2 representitives out. One to the President of Somalia, and another to the leader of the ICU. I would have sold them to the highest bidder, and gotten the hell out of dodge.

[BigTex]

U.S. Navy brings in negotiator to secure release of hostages held by Somali pirates.

[Newfie]

As if we didn't have enough to worry about these days I stumbled on the following article. Is this a legitimate news organization?

Deep in my paranoid self I wonder about the citizenry being set up for some kind of "event" to justify "counter measures." Having heard/read a couple of stories recently it makes me wonder. Right wing friends "heard" that Islamics would set off a nuke in US, NY Sun reported intercepted Islamic messages, seized sealed containers in Long Beach, etc.

Somali pirates hijack Iranian ship with chemical or radiological cargo
MS Iran Deyanat belonging to Iran state shipping company was hijacked a month ago, a common occurrence at the Somali coast though the ship of 45,000 tons is unusually large for pirates. Oddly, they asked for an unusually small ransom, just $200,000 which Iran allegedly paid.
Upon bringing the ship to Somali, the pirates tried opening its containers, but failed. They, however, received typical radiological skin burns and their hair fell out. The damage can be of chemical origin, too.
The ship, chartered by a German company, was departed China en route to, ostensibly, the port of Rotterdam. The choice of Iranian shipping for a legitimate cargo to Germany is suspicious.
Three decades ago, China supplied the uranium enriched on Soviet centrifuges to Egypt for its military nuclear program. This may be the case today, with Iran’s own centrifuges merely a smokescreen.
Pirates

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'A')s if we didn't have enough to worry about these days I stumbled on the following article.

Is this a legitimate news organization?

Deep in my paranoid self I wonder about the citizenry being set up for some kind of "event" to justify "counter measures." Having heard/read a couple of stories recently it makes me wonder. Right wing friends "heard" that Islamics would set off a nuke in US, NY Sun reported intercepted Islamic messages, seized sealed containers in Long Beach, etc.


Somali pirates hijack Iranian ship with chemical or radiological cargo

MS Iran Deyanat belonging to Iran state shipping company was hijacked a month ago, a common occurrence at the Somali coast though the ship of 45,000 tons is unusually large for pirates. Oddly, they asked for an unusually small ransom, just $200,000 which Iran allegedly paid.
Upon bringing the ship to Somali, the pirates tried opening its containers, but failed. They, however, received typical radiological skin burns and their hair fell out. The damage can be of chemical origin, too.
The ship, chartered by a German company, was departed China en route to, ostensibly, the port of Rotterdam. The choice of Iranian shipping for a legitimate cargo to Germany is suspicious.
Three decades ago, China supplied the uranium enriched on Soviet centrifuges to Egypt for its military nuclear program. This may be the case today, with Iran’s own centrifuges merely a smokescreen.
[code]

Web Page Name

[mos6507]

That's karma for ya.

[Nickel]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'L')ocation: US East Coast

[tranquill]

Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian vessel with enriched uranium from China! See here: link

Fixed link. Please use the hyperlink function (instructions in the 'How To Get Around This Site..." thread in the Welcome Forum.) Thank you.-FL

[lowem]

A few months back, my by-now-former-employer delivered their 20,000th Hellfire anti-tank missile.

33 targets shouldn't be too much of an issue

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lowem', 'A') few months back, my by-now-former-employer delivered their 20,000th Hellfire anti-tank missile. 33 targets shouldn't be too much of an issue

[Cloud9]

Why not pull the thing up to a wharf. Build a ramp, cut a hole in the side of the ship and drive them out?