Just Like Old Times
As the Royal Navy stops taking crap. Times of London on two boatloads of Royal Marines vs. a dhow full of Somali and Yemeni pirates:
Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles.
In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.
“Living memory” sounds like a bit of a stretch. The WWII vets aren’t all dead yet, though no doubt it’s been a while. The article, after describing the incident, notes:
The gun battle was in stark contrast to the Royal Navy’s last encounter with a boatful of armed men - when crew members of HMS Cornwall, also a Type 22 frigate, patrolling in the Gulf in rigid raiders, were surrounded by heavily armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards in March last year. Eight sailors, including a woman, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, and seven Marines were taken hostage without a shot being fired, and detained for 13 days. The Commons Defence Committee described the incident as “a national embarrassment”.
Yesterday’s battle signalled a new policy of maximum robustness for the Royal Navy on the high seas. Captain Mike Davis-Marks, a senior spokesman for the Navy, said: “This is bound to have an impact on pirates who for the last two years have been getting away with seizing vessels and receiving large ransoms. Now suddenly there’s the threat of death and this may force them to think again, but they are determined people, so we’ll have to see.”
That’s OK. Kill more. Meanwhile, no show without Punch:
The Russians claimed a helicopter based on their own frigate Neustrashimy had also taken part in yesterday’s battle, though the Royal Navy knew nothing about it. The Royal Marine commandos who boarded the pirates’ dhow were supported by a Lynx helicopter from HMS Cumberland, the MoD said.
Topics: Britain, middle east
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:43 am on Thursday, November 13, 2008
3 Responses to “Just Like Old Times”
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November 13th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
It’s about time British politicians started letting British military people defend themselves.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
[...] clipped from http://www.julescrittenden.com [...]
November 15th, 2008 at 12:14 am
The were being gentle with the pirates. In the Gulf after Gulf War I US Navy small craft enforced a blockade on Iraq, boarding and inspecting dhows. If the crew was misguided enough to fire on them, the Navy guys just shot everyone and sank the boat with .50 cal fire. Ma Deuce in not kind to wooden boats. Navy guys are not kind to pukes who shoot at them.