Small Wars Journal

U.S. Marines seize freighter from Somali pirates

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 1:19pm
Early today, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Maritime Raid Force, operating off USS Dubuque, retook the German--owned vessel M/V Magellan Star from Somali pirates who had attacked and boarded the vessel early Sept 8. The Marines reported no casualties and said no shots were fired. The ship's crew was rescued and nine pirates were taken prisoner.

See this press release from U.S. Fifth Fleet for more details.

Comments

carl (not verified)

Sun, 03/13/2011 - 1:46am

Somali Pirate:

Can you give us some kind of measure or ratio of inequality below which criminality is ok, and above which it is not?

I think I botched my first post.

I have to be honest. I really didn't mind the pirates so much until they started whacking hostages. It's that whole stealing bread to find your family thing. Maybe ships are bigger than bread, but it deserves be noted that the Somali Pirates point out a gaping inequality in the world economy. Just my two cents.

I have to be honest. I really didn't mind the pirates so much until they started whacking hostages. It's that whole stealing bread to find your family thing. Maybe ships are bigger than bread, but it deserves be noted that the Somali Pirates point out a gaping inequality in the world economy. Just my two cents.

B. M. Simon (not verified)

Sun, 09/12/2010 - 1:37pm

I think it is fantastic that the stars aligned to have, as Captain Ned states, "...Look what happens when you put the right ships, the right partners, and creative junior officers from the Navy/Marine Corps Team together."

My only concern is what are they doing with the pirates that were captured? Are they giving them to one of the neighboring countries to have them deal with them or are they bring them back to the U.S. to stand trila for piracy?

BJ Armstrong (not verified)

Fri, 09/10/2010 - 12:28pm

Rex, you are absolutely right. That's actually part of what I meant by "partners."

The fact that vessels are no longer allowed to have firearms on board when tranisting the Suez Canal means that the Merchants are becoming even more limited in their options. If CTF 151 keeps this up then the merchants will have a better option than "hey, take care of yourself," which is kinda what 5th Fleet has told them in the past.

Rex Brynen

Fri, 09/10/2010 - 12:03am

BJ: "Look what happens when you put the right ships, the right partners, and creative junior officers from the Navy/Marine Corps Team together. This is a great example of the prinicples of maritime irregular warfare that were in the NWCR article SWJ linked to a couple weeks ago."

Yes, but let's also not forget the ship owners who had the foresight to install a main engine kill, safe room, and back-up satellite phone in the M/V Magellan Star, as well as the apparent professionalism with which that ship's crew evacuated to the safe room and called for assistance.

Had they not done so, it is unlikely there would have been any armed rescue. In other words, the answer here isn't just an armed response capacity, but the appropriate advance preparations by merchant shipping too.

Vito (not verified)

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 5:54pm

Ditto the BZ to 15th MEU. Way to go Devil Dogs!

BJ Armstrong (not verified)

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 5:47pm

Alex Martin, who wrote the Proceedings article, is the CO of the Force Recon element of 15th MEU...the man on the scene.

Look what happens when you put the right ships, the right partners, and creative junior officers from the Navy/Marine Corps Team together. This is a great example of the prinicples of maritime irregular warfare that were in the NWCR article SWJ linked to a couple weeks ago.

Hanibal had it right, "I love it when a plan comes together." BZ 15th MEU!

Captain Ned (not verified)

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 3:43pm

Any reason we took the pirates prisoner instead of doing the right thing?