Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:45am GMT
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pirates shot dead four U.S. hostages on a private yacht on Tuesday, the deadliest incident involving Americans kidnapped for ransom in the increasingly dangerous waters off Somalia.
The U.S. military said the pirates shot the hostages before American special forces boarded the vessel.
U.S. troops killed two pirates as they took control of the the boat, and took 15 pirates into custody. Another two pirates were found dead when the U.S. special forces arrived but they were not killed by U.S. forces, the military said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. government was "deeply saddened and very upset by the murder of four American citizens" -- a "deplorable act" that underscored the need for more international cooperation against the pirates.
"We've got to have a more effective approach to maintaining security on the seas, in the ocean lanes, that are so essential to commerce and travel," she told reporters.
Pirate gangs preying on shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean typically target large merchant ships, with oil tankers the prize catch, but the snatching of foreigners can also yield high ransoms. There were around 750 pirate hostages at the end of January.
The Americans killed on Tuesday were Jean and Scott Adam, from California, as well as Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle.
The U.S. military said negotiations with the pirates had been under way when on Tuesday morning, without warning, a pirate fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett.
Then gunfire broke out inside the pirated vessel.
"The intent always had been that this would be a negotiated process and not ever go into a point where we actually had gunfire," said Vice Admiral Mark Fox, the head of U.S. naval forces in the turbulent region.
President Barack Obama had authorized the use of force in the case of an imminent threat to the hostages, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
In Seattle, people who knew Riggle, who was in his late 60s, said he was a retired veterinarian who had worked under contract for the Seattle Animal Shelter.
"He was a very nice, compassionate individual. He had a way with animals. He treated people with dignity and respect," said Dan Jordan, the director of the shelter.
Jordan said Riggle seemed well-suited to his companion, Macay. "He was a man of few words, and she was a woman of many words," he said.
REVENGE
In April 2009, U.S. Navy special forces freed the captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama by killing three Somali pirates who held him hostage in a lifeboat. Obama had authorized the use of force in that incident as well.
The one surviving pirate from the Maersk incident has been sentenced to 33 years and nine months in prison in a federal court in New York.
Two Somali pirates who spoke with Reuters by telephone on Tuesday said the hostages were ordered killed since the pirates themselves were under attack by U.S. forces.
"Our colleagues called us this morning, that they were being attacked by a U.S. warship," Mohamud, a Somali pirate, told Reuters. "We ordered our comrades to kill the four Americans before they got killed."
Pirate leader Farah, speaking from Bayla, a pirate haven in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia, vowed to avenge the deaths and capture of his comrades.
"I lost the money I invested and my comrades. No forgiveness for the Americans. Revenge. Our business will go on," he said, adding he had spent $110,000 so far in the hijacking, including on weapons and food and salaries.
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Email to a friend .US-bound oil tanker hijacked off Oman
09 Feb 2011 10:40
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Tanker bound for U.S. Gulf coast
* Greek manager says armed men seized tanker
SINGAPORE/ATHENS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Armed pirates seized a U.S.-bound oil tanker carrying Kuwaiti crude off the coast of Oman, the ship's Greek manager said on Wednesday, in an area where Somali seaborne gangs operate.
The Very Large Crude Carrier, the Irene SL, was carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil, worth roughly $200 million at market prices.
"This morning the vessel was attacked by armed men," Greece-based company Enesel said in a statement sent to Reuters, confirming earlier reports from shipbrokers. "For the moment there is no communication with the vessel."
International navies have struggled to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean as a result of the vast distances involved as Somali gangs make millions of dollars in ransoms.
On Tuesday, pirates firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades hijacked an Italian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean and diverted the medium-sized vessel toward Somalia.[ID:nLDE7170PV]
Somali pirates are increasingly using hijacked merchant vessels with hostage crews as giant motherships to attack deeper into the Indian Ocean, the European Union anti-piracy task force said last month.
A study showed that maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7 billion and $12 billion a year, with Somali piracy in particular driving up the cost of shipping through the Indian Ocean.
Pirates last year received a record $9.5 million ransom for the release of the Samho Dream South Korean oil tanker. [ID:nLDE6A506Q] [ID:nLDE70C1HG] (Reporting by Yaw Yanchong and Renee Maltezou; Writing by Amran Abocar; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Keiron Henderson) ================= US navy destroyer rescues Iranian boat from Somali pirates Rescue in which 15 suspects were detained comes just days after Tehran warned the US to keep its warships out of the Gulf reddit this Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 January 2012 22.26 GMT Article history US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: 'This is an incredible story'. Photograph: AP A US navy destroyer has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected pirates just days after Tehran warned America to keep its warships out of the Gulf. US forces flying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responded to a distress call from the Iranian vessel, the Al Molai, which had been held captive for more than 40 days, the US navy said Friday. The Kidd was sailing in the Arabian sea, after leaving the Gulf, when it came to the sailors' aid. A US navy team boarded the ship Thursday and detained 15 suspected Somali pirates. They had been holding the 13-member Iranian crew hostage and were using the boat as a "mother ship" for pirating operations in the Gulf. Amid escalating tensions with Tehran, the Obama administration reveled in delivering the news. "This is an incredible story. This is a great story," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, explaining that the very same American ships Iran protested against for recently travelling through the Strait of Hormuz were responsible for the Iranian vessel's recovery. "They were obviously very grateful to be rescued from these pirates," Nuland said. The episode occurred after a week of hostile rhetoric from Iranian leaders, including a statement by Iran's army chief that American vessels are no longer welcome in the Gulf. Iran also warned it could block the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that carries to market much of the oil pumped in the Middle East. The Iranian threats, which were brushed aside by the Obama administration, were in response to strong economic sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear enrichment program. Last week, president Barack Obama signed into law new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad. According to the navy, the Kidd was part of the USS John C Stennis Carrier Strike Group, which had recently left the Gulf through the strait and into the northern Arabian sea. A navy search-and-seizure team was taken by helicopter from the Kidd to the Al Molai and met no resistance from the pirates, who surrendered quickly. "The Al Molai had been taken over by pirates for roughly the last 40-45 days," said Josh Schminsky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd. "They were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations." Schminsky said the Iranian boat's captain thanked the US for assistance. "He was afraid that without our help, they could have been there for months," Schminsky said in a prepared release. The US team gave the crew food, water and medical care. Nuland said the crew then returned the Iranians to their fishing vessels "and they went on their way." The captured pirates remain on the Stennis while the US considers options for prosecution and consults with other nations that have joined forces against piracy. "Sadly, this is not a new thing," she told reporters, citing more than 1,000 pirates picked up at sea who are under prosecution in some 20 countries. "So this is always a question of where to send them and who will do the prosecution." Asked if the rescue mission could provide a chance for a thaw in relations with Iran, Nuland declined to comment. She said the navy had made a "humanitarian gesture" to take the Iranians onboard, feed them and ensure they were in good health before setting them off. She said the US and Iranian governments have had no direct contact over the incident. ====================
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