Second British Flagged Vessel taken by Pirates

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ump010

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www.yachtelectricalservices.co.uk
Yes, a second ship flying the Red Ensign has been taken by Somali pirates, in less than a week!

See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...es-capture-second-British-flagged-vessel.html

Is it any wonder?

When a ship of the Grey Funnel Fleet, with Royal Marines on board, stands by and watches a British Yacht (the Lyn Rival) attacked on the high seas and then again watches whilst the boat and it’s British Crew are led into captivity and DOES NOTHING.

The message to the pirates is clear:
“You may attack British Ships at will. The British Government and Armed Forces will do nothing”

It gets even worse, look at this:
See: http://maritimenews.info/shipping-news/navy-releases-somali-pirates-caught-in-the-act/
even when they catch them they let them go after giving them presents!

The French at least have the bottle to do something, even if it does not always work 100%. They do at least send a different message.
See: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/10/somalia.france/index.html

Can anyone recall if this country has had such incompetent government before?

Care to speculate on how a real leader, such as Churchill or Thatcher would have acted?
 
My son did 2 trips as a cadet during his Naval Arch degree. The first had a British skipper and him and the second he was the only Brit on board. A flag of convenience and a tax dodge is what the Red Ensign is becoming.
 
flag

if i was to sail in those waters where priates were active i would fly the french flag, they had the french special services sort it so they will pick on the english flag yachts/ships.

sad isnt it to feel for ones own safety the best flag to fly isn't ur own?

Our forces seem hamstrung and in need of some proper leadership.

bob
 
ump010 said:
Is it any wonder?

When a ship of the Grey Funnel Fleet, with Royal Marines on board, stands by and watches a British Yacht (the Lyn Rival) attacked on the high seas and then again watches whilst the boat and it’s British Crew are led into captivity and DOES NOTHING.

The message to the pirates is clear:
“You may attack British Ships at will. The British Government and Armed Forces will do nothing”


Can anyone recall if this country has had such incompetent government before?

Care to speculate on how a real leader, such as Churchill or Thatcher would have acted?
Click to expand...

If the Government sorted out the Rules of Engagement issued to RN and RFA Commanding Officers then perhaps the individual commands could do something. With the ROE currently in force the RN or RFA vessel must come under attack itself before it can open fire.
 
mikehibb said:
Report that I read said that they were outside the Naval protection zone.
Click to expand...

It seems that they were en route to join a convoy through the area regarded as most dangerous. Presumably the pirates now realise that the easy way to take a ship is to get outside the patrolled and convoyed area. Their use of captured vessels as "mother ships" leaves too big an area to patrol, so unless the naval forces resort to seeking out and sinking or disabling the "mother ships" which probably have captured crew on board who are being forced to work them, there is little that can be done in prevention.
 
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Rather to be expected given that the UK is a flag of convenience so there are loads of ships sailing under the red duster with not a lot of Brit about them.
 
navi warships...

it just shows how bad those naval ships are and starts you to wonder if all that costly gear on them paid by our tax monies is actually working...

wonder how they cope in a real war...
 
Strange that the picture in the "Telegraph" report seems to show a vessel registered in Singapore, note I say seems to show.
The report refers to a car carrier and shows what appears to be a small tanker.
Even taking into account the report also mentions the St James Park that is not the name on the stern!
No where does it say that the ships are British registered (Flagged) It does refer to them being managed by the same British company, not quite the same.
A bit of creative reporting me thinks!
As a matter of interest for all you guys who seem to have it in for the RN and RFA. A few weeks ago I came across, quite by chance, a programme on Quest about a Danish naval "Supership" on patrol in the gulf of Aden. Not surprisingly they were equally constrained in what they could do with out consulting higher authority at home.
Give our lads a break!
 
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Sounds like a lucrative trade! :)
 
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