Failure To Board
CNN reports a pirate assault on another American-flagged ship has failed and the ship is now being escorted by a warship into Mombasa.
Katy Urbik of Wheaton, Illinois, said her son, Thomas, was aboard the Liberty Sun at the time of the attack. She shared the e-mails he sent as the ship came under fire.
“We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets,” said one e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon. “We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. [A] rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out.
“Navy is on the way and helos and ships are coming. I’ll try to send you another message soon. [G]ot to go now. I love you mom and dad and all my brothers and family.”
“My heart stopped after I realized there wasn’t going to be a ‘just kidding’ after his comment,” Katy Urbik said.
About 1½ hours later, Thomas Urbik sent another e-mail to his mother, which said, “The navy has showed up in full force and we are now under military escort … all is well. I love you all and thank you for the prayers.”
The Liberty Sun was carrying food aid for African nations. Nice try, pirates. Also, TV news is reporting that Capt. Phillips, aboard USS Bainbridge, is going to miss the flight home tomorrow because the ship was diverted to deal with this situation. Nice going, pirates.
Don Sensing at Sense of Events advocates incrementalism. I disagree with Don on whether this is a matter of US national security and whether we have time to bide, as noted in posts below. The latest violent and highly dangerous incident is a case in point. Saw a post last night that advocated convoys, which may be an effective short-term expedient, though it is a restraint on shipping. Could work in tandem with hunting parties and stepped-up efforts to free hostages. Though, as delightfully noted by some guy at the Village Voice who apparently thinks one rescue = an effective Obama pirate policy, I tend to prefer a “scorched water” policy.
Topics: crime, law & order
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:33 pm on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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April 15th, 2009 at 9:53 am
[...] attacks on U.S flagged ships.CNN reports pirates have already opened fire at the Liberty Sun. (H/T) Jules Crittenden : “The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which [...]