Exclusive: French warship diverted to free luxury yacht crew seized by pirates off Somalia

Debka.com ^ | April 5, 2008

[Timmy]

So, what's a "French warship" look like? Anyone got a picture? Yes, I know what I'm asking for.

[hosepipe]

Thats a fine kettle of fish.. NOW the pirates can take over a French Warship.. for ransome.. if the pirates can stand the smell..

[RightWhale]

DEBKA aside, a French warship has been assigned to this task.

[PAR35]

DEBKAfile’s sources

You had me going until I got to that.

[robomatik]

"DEBKAfile’s sources"

debka has sources?

[DainBramage]

Can the pirates feed that many more hostages? Perhaps the plan is to surrender them to death.

[1rudeboy]

Not to get in the way of the French Navy-bashing, but are there any squids out there who know whether the French are in command of CTF-150? Serious question, I know . . . please return to your regularly scheduled programming.

[NordP]

I believe we need to be changing the word "Pirates" to "Terrorists" - there's no Johnny Depp here...these people are dangerous and horrible.

There's NO ROMANCE here folks! Call it what it is -- TERRORISM !!!

[txhurl]

Maybe the ransom figure demanded was too high.

[johnandrhonda]

"So, what's a "French warship" look like? Anyone got a picture? Yes, I know what I'm asking for."

It's the one with the propellers in the front...aids in rapid retreat.

[Westbrook]

> I believe we need to be changing the word “Pirates”
> to “Terrorists”

Exactly.

And to what religion do you suppose these terrorists adhere?

[txzman]

Hope this ship’s propeller stays on - the French have such a hard time with simple things like that...

[marktwain]

“There's NO ROMANCE here folks! Call it what it is — TERRORISM !!!”

---

Piracy has always been a nasty, dirty business. A little known fact is that the United Nations defined most piracy out of existence, even though piracy has been increasing enormously.

To be a pirate, the crime has to occur with a privately owned craft in international waters for “private gain”.

So, since most piracy occurs in coastal waters, and a great deal occurs under the cover of law of renegade states, and since “terrorists” can claim that they were doing it for ideological reasons rather than “private gain”, most pirates simply are defined out of existence.

[PAR35]

The French navy doesn’t seem to have a ship of that name.

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/decouverte/organisation/unites/batiments_de_surface/batiments_de_combat/liste_des_batiments_de_combat_de_la_marine_nationale_par_unite

The form of the name would indicate it would be a Type A69, but here’s their list of that type:

Avisos type A69

* Aviso Lieutenant de vaisseau Le Hénaff (F 789)
* Aviso Lieutenant de vaisseau Lavallée (F 790)
* Aviso Commandant l’Herminier (F 791)
* Aviso Premier maître l’Her (F 792)
* Aviso Commandant Blaison (F 793)
* Aviso Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet (F 794)
* Aviso Commandant Ducuing (F 795)
* Aviso Commandant Birot (F 796)
* Aviso Commandant Bouan (F 797)

It’s possible that it’s a new ship and they haven’t updated their website yet. But we are talking a known unreliable source. A google of “Le Commandant Rouen” turns up only this story.

I consider it more ‘creative writing’ until there’s a legitimate source.

[DainBramage]

So now they are going to surrender a warship.

[Emperor Palpatine]

Well, here's the "Le Vengeur" being sunk by the Royal Navy in 1794.

Here's the French battleship "Bouvet" being sunk by the Turkish guns in the Dardanelles, 1915.

Here's the Vichy France "Dunkerque" being sunk by the British at Oran harbor in 1940

[Alter Kaker]

It's actually the Commandant Bouan, a small frigate intended for littoral combat. One of the lowest-tech French warship designs - most ships of its class have been sold to Turkey or decomissioned - but perfectly adequate for dealing with Somali pirates.

[HangnJudge]

Might look a little like
This

[Alter Kaker]

So I take it you’re rooting against America’s French allies and for the Islamist terorists who kidnapped 30 French citizens? Charming!