U.S. Marines Free German-Owned Ship From Pirates

[TheSarge]

U.S. Marines early Thursday boarded and took control of a German-owned commercial vessel that had been attacked and captured by pirates, in what appeared to be the first American-led military boarding of its kind amid the recent surge in piracy along the east coast of Africa.

It wasn't immediately clear where the U.S. took the ship. U.S. and allied warships have been patrolling the Gulf of Aden and neighboring waters for months after Somalia-based pirates started to ratchet up their attacks there and along the coast of east Africa.

It reportedly took the Marines an hour to subdue the pirates and retake the ship, the M/V Magellan Star, which had been attacked early Sept. 8. The nine captured pirates remain on the Magellan Star awaiting transfer. No shots were reported fired as Marines overtook the pirates, and no injuries or casualties were reported.

This successful mission by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) secured the safety of the ship's crew and returned control of the ship to the civilian mariners.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/09/marines-free-german-owned-ship-pirates/

[BlueStateSaint]

Good on the USMC for this.  I wonder just how high up the chain of command this one went.  Seeing the Obamessiah's poll numbers lately, it wouldn't surprise me if this came right from his desk.

[ironhorsedriver]

Bravo Zulu to our Marines. An Alpha strike on the Pirates base may be a good deterrent as well.

[true_blood]

Gotta love those Marines!! AWESOME work!

[AllosaursRus]

'Bout damn time! I hope they executed the mission with extreme prejudice! As far as I'm concerned, if you're one of these cowardly assholes, you get a death sentence just as soon as it's proven!

Someone want to splain to me why mariners aren't allowed weapons on board??????????

[jediab]

'Bout damn time! I hope they executed the mission with extreme prejudice! As far as I'm concerned, if you're one of these cowardly assholes, you get a death sentence just as soon as it's proven!

Someone want to splain to me why mariners aren't allowed weapons on board??????????

As far as I know, it's because the companies who own the ships do not allow weapons on board. I do not think there are any maritime laws preventing it.

[ironhorsedriver]

My understanding is that it is because of laws in countries whose port they visit. Most countries do not allow firearms on any inbound shipping. Military vessels excepted of course.

[JohnnyReb]

The Marines should use the pirates as bait....and troll for sharks.









Yeah, yeah, I know they probably taste bad but the smell should attract the sharks.

[AllosaursRus]

My understanding is that it is because of laws in countries whose port they visit. Most countries do not allow firearms on any inbound shipping. Military vessels excepted of course.

That has been my take also. So when does self preservation take over? Every country in the world knows of this danger, yet refuse to change their laws.

There is Maritime law is there not? Couldn't a self defense measure be amended to it?

In these times, I would think it would help every country's bottom line!

[DefiantSix]

That has been my take also. So when does self preservation take over? Every country in the world knows of this danger, yet refuse to change their laws.

There is Maritime law is there not? Couldn't a self defense measure be amended to it?

In these times, I would think it would help every country's bottom line!

I read an article a while ago which had a captain that carried a sidearm with him into whatever harbor he made port at.  According to him and the article, so long as he had a secure location to store it (a small safe in his case) the port customs authorities would simply have him declare the weapon on his paperwork, at which time they would inspect that the storage for the pistol was secure, and then place a customs seal over the door.  So long as that seal was not violated while he was still in their sovereign waters, he was within the bounds of the law.

Not as difficult to cary a weapon on the high seas as the anti-gun nazis might have you believe.

[Randy]

I read an article a while ago which had a captain that carried a sidearm with him into whatever harbor he made port at.  According to him and the article, so long as he had a secure location to store it (a small safe in his case) the port customs authorities would simply have him declare the weapon on his paperwork, at which time they would inspect that the storage for the pistol was secure, and then place a customs seal over the door.  So long as that seal was not violated while he was still in their sovereign waters, he was within the bounds of the law.

Not as difficult to carry a weapon on the high seas as the anti-gun nazis might have you believe.

I was reading along here thinking that a well secured locker/closet/armory should be good enough for any customs inspections. If they're declared as there and locked away then there should be absolutely no problem. That's only common sense to me. Private boats do it all the time. I'm betting this is an insurance company thing. They don't want to get sued for one of their clients protecting themselves in some litigious country.

[true_blood]

The Marines should use the pirates as bait....and troll for sharks.









Yeah, yeah, I know they probably taste bad but the smell should attract the sharks.

They probably smell as bad as they taste!

[ColonialMarine0431]

09/09/2010 - U.S. Marines assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force approach the motor vessel Magellan Star in the Gulf of Aden Sept. 9, 2010, to recover the vessel from suspected pirates who took control of the ship Sept. 8, 2010. The Marines boarded the vessel and took nine suspected pirates into custody. The pirates were taken to the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) and the Magellan Star’s 11 crewmembers resumed control of the container ship. Dubuque is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David McKee, U.S. Navy/Released)

[Thor]

BZ and and "Oooh-Rah" for the Marines. The USS Princeton was the other ship that suffered a mine strike along with my ship, the USS Tripoli during Desert Storm. They got hit far worse than the Tripoli.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Princeton_%28CG-59%29