still they could have taken a more southerly course out of range.
They were actually hijacked 300 miles off the coast of Yemen, and 350 miles from the easternmost point in Somalia........a normally safe and secure part of the area. The pirates are apparently expanding their area of operations due to increased naval security in their normal hunting grounds.
You don't sail a 40 meter sloop around the world twice by being a poor sailor.
Unfortunately the lack of will by the international community to just massacre them and sink their vessels has allowed them, through the influx of large amount of ransom dollars, to purchase larger, faster, and more sophisticated vessels, better arms and electronic navigation, and radar equipment. They are NOT just a bunch of poor ragtag fishermen hijacking vessels close to shore with small open boats. They are now a well equipped paramilitary force, and need to be dealt with with
overwhelming force........
Unfortunately, with naval assets from a good number of nations conducting security operations in the area, the Russians seem to be the only ones willing to simply wipe them out without mercy.
Last report that I saw mentioned that 13 pirates were captured.........what do you want to bet that assuming the captors were US forces, that Obama drags them back here for a trial in front of a liberal judge, who at the most will give them a 20-year sentence for four murders, and piracy. At worst they will stick them in a Federal prison where they will live a life several orders of magnitude better than their lives at home.
Under maritime law they SHOULD be simply shot on sight, and the bodies thrown overboard for the sharks. A Harpoon missile should take care of the "mother ship" from where they typically embark.
Alas, however, since much of the PC west views them simply as poor, illiterate black people just "trying to survive" in a less than third world country, little will ever be done.
doc