Posted on 01/06/2009 11:34:01 AM PST by Stoat
EXCLUSIVE
Brits fight off deadly pirates
The three-man ex-military security team were hired to protect cargo ship S. Venus in the pirate infested waters of the Gulf of Aden off the Africa coast.
On four separate occasions between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Somali pirates – armed with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) – tried to hijack the boat by force.
Alex Little, 43, said: "We knew if we engaged them and they won we would be killed.
"It was a fight for our lives but we decided we were going to save this boat - it was emotional."
The men, who work for APMSS security, were protecting the 190-metre long cargo ship on its two day voyage ferrying barley from Aden to Oman.
Denied guns by law, the men were forced to used improvised weapons – including mini grenades made out of light bulbs and paint thinner.
Former Royal Marine Kevin Brewin, 52, lead the team of Alex and Ian Knight, 38, on their mission to defend the vulnerable vessel.
He said: "We made the decision to fight and that is what we did. I suppose looking back it was pretty hairy but at the time you just get stuck in and do your job.
"Ian had made some Molotov cocktails out of light bulbs by taking out the element, filling it with paint thinner and plugging the top with toilet paper."
Despite the vicious onslaught the men hatched an audacious defence – pouring paint thinner straight into a pirate boat – before firing a flare gun into it.
During the last attack the S. Venus captain had headed towards a nearby French frigate which had been alerted to their plight during the third attack.
The Premier Maitre L'Her picked up and arrested eight pirates who were handed over to Puntland, a state in north eastern Somalia.
The trio are now safely back in the UK after their dramatic ordeal.
Their boss Nick Davis and owner of APMSS said: "It was unbelievably brave - to be attacked four times is unprecedented.
"They really are heroes. This team performed above and beyond the call of duty.”
And it's a real shame that they were forced to manufacture their own weapons in order to do their job
Denied guns by law, the men were forced to used improvised weapons – including mini grenades made out of light bulbs and paint thinner.
So a three-man security team was hired to protect the vessel...with what weaponry? did their employer expect them to engage AK-47's and RPG's with hand-to-hand combat? It seems that quite a bit is missing from this initial report...hopefully other sources will fill in the blanks in the days to come.
In the meantime I hope that these brave men will be given substantial awards for such bravery and valor.
.50 Caliber ping
These three xheroes are back in Britain, and more than likely the pirates have been released and are back on the bounding main.
It is crazy to force ships to cross pirate infested waters unarmed. By this time whoever made such an idiotic law should have looked at it and changed it,but that might stop the pirates, and it sure looks like that isnt the objective here. One good hand grenade here would have solved the problem for good and all.
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
I STILL think it would be great to outfit a Carnival Cruise Lines Somali Pirates NRA/GOA cruise. “Barbary Tour 2009 — Great Eats, Great Shooting!”
Agreed
Sea Marshalls needed... (sic)
“Former Royal Marine Kevin Brewin”
It would RAH was correct - there are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous people.
I can only wonder what the outcome might have been had the RM beeen granted access to a MPMG or (horrors) a Ma Duce.
I wouldn’t even consider getting on a ship sailing through that area without my Mini-14 onhand...
I think going forward some of these hired teams will be having real weapons. The crew will not report it, the ship's owner will gladly finance it, and obviously the pirates will not be talking to anyone from many fathoms down.
Or maybe it is already happening ....a lot could happen to pirates without anyone ever knowing, and I am sure there MUST be some pirate boats that head out in the morning and never return.
Who’s law prohibits them from carrying guns? They were at sea.
I think I see why the pirates are so bold, as usual the law favors the wrong side.
Some enterprising fishermen could make a bundle from selling small arms from their boats on the high seas. A few old AKs and a couple of RPGs could make a big difference in the hands of ex-military personnel.
Well there's your problem....in a nut shell. They need to be able to ARM THEMSELVES!
the do skeet shoot off the fan tail. So take about 50 shotguns and a couple of cases of slugs. 7/8 of an ounce of lead. It will go through a boat or a terrorist.
Improvised weapons and bravery ping...
No kidding. If these guys really signed on under such terms, they're brave bordering on insane.
Can ANYBODY explain the logic behind the restrictions which prevent merchant vessels and their crews from carrying weapons to protect themselves?
Sounds like quite a plausible and likely scenario...thank you!
> And it’s a real shame that they were forced to manufacture their own weapons in order to do their job
These four guys are just like Hannibal Smith and the A-Team!
Improvised weapons — I love it!
Sea Marshalls needed... (sic)
<<Exactly!
I was going to call BS on this until I read:
mini grenades made out of light bulbs and paint thinner
That is more believable. At first I assumed drinkable alcohol. None of the Brits I worked with would ever have thrown something they could have drunk, even in self defense.
(Its a joke folks, don't take it too seriously...)
> Who’s law prohibits them from carrying guns? They were at sea.
I believe it is that new international Law of the Sea — you know, that same dam’nfool law that you Yanks are trying to use to make the Northwest Passage “International Waters” when in fact it belongs to Canada.
As with anything that comes out of the UN or out of International organizations, it is a piece of dam’nfoolishness that ought to be scrapped forthwith and without delay.
No, they would have made an ad-hoc armored vehicle out of something, and shot thousands of rounds out of Mini-14s without ever scoring a hit.
In some ways, in fact many ways, the world has gone insane. Making these ships sail unarmed is nothing less than crazy.
Man, this reads like a Steven Segall movie. Good for them. Next time take a gun. Screw’em!
I thought I was the only person who wondered if the A team had ever hit anything. I don’t think in the entire series including millions of rounds fired, they ever hit a single person.
(chuckle!) brings back happy memories of when TV was watchable AND enjoyable...
Really.
I wonder if they could fly under a US flag and be armed. Sounds like all it would take would be some hunting rifles to makes these “pirates” go away.
Sounds like the police vs. the DNC brownshirts at the GOP convention in 2008.
As a former Jarhead, where marksmanship was almost a State Religion, it used to drive me crazy to watch that. :-)
I also remember George Peppard in a series long ago called ‘Banacek’. He played a Polish American detective, and I remember the plots were written so that you could figure out the mystery if you were really thinking and paying attention.
Thanks for the ping. I thought the glassware were distilling flasks from a chem lab.
> That is more believable. At first I assumed drinkable alcohol. None of the Brits I worked with would ever have thrown something they could have drunk, even in self defense.
Of course not! We’re brought up properly: never throw something that you can drink.
Now, I have a technical question: lite bulbs filled with paint thinner.
I dunno about the paint thinner you Yanks have: ours is “Mineral Turpentine”, or “Mineral Spirits” — you might call it “Solvent”.
That stuff doesn’t burn very well at all: at best, it is like lighter fluid. Usually it is even less volatile than that. You can’t drink it so you can throw it instead. Do you think that is what they were using?
Or more likely Laquer Reducer or Metholated Spirits — both of which you cannot drink (so they qualify for being thrown) and both of which are “Paint Thinners”, and both of which catch fire exceedingly well?
What say you?
Handed over to Puntland...” No good. It becomes just a frustrating and unprofitible day for the brigands. The navy should have held quick court before the vessel’s commander and then hanged the pirates to a boom, a “yardarm” as it were. Perhaps the bodies could then have been offloaded at Puntland.
> As a former Jarhead, where marksmanship was almost a State Religion, it used to drive me crazy to watch that. :-)
George Peppard was also a former Jarhead. Must have drove him crazy, too!
This is a great story; it’s always good to see and hear of brave men defending decency and civilization. It’s primal.
ok so if they are not allowed guns in port, then why not have armed men meet them just outside the port when they leave and dismbark before they arrive?
knowing all boats are unarmed just makes it an inviting target
I think it would burn quite well when in contact with a flare. Very difficult to put out and burns quite hot (the flare, that is).
You don't want a flash, you want a sustained burn to threaten a boat.
The good ship Venus?
What ever you do, do not Google that. It is very rude.
I wonder if they have petrol for generators aboard, or petrol for outboard motors?
I guess one uses what one has handy on short notice. Well done, in any case.
Yo ho, yo ho a pirate’s life for me...
Yeah, I was thinking my .300 Weatherby with a Leupold scope, but then I am an Anglophile.
In the US, mineral spirits is used as a paint thinner - and is a type of refined petroleum - high grade kero if you will. Splash a bit and hit it with a flare, quite the brew up I would say.
I burn it in my wick lamps - no nasty buildup and odor free.
No, various members of the “A-Team” would get winged periodically.
They would also flip at least one car in a single-side ramp/roll. We would take bets if it would spin clockwise or counterclockwise before the show started.
Some odorless mineral spirits are not flammable, but some odorless are and standard mineral spirits are also flammable.
Material Safety Data Sheet
Odorless Mineral Spirits
http://kinetronics.com/store/CCSMSDSData.pdf
Marathon Mineral Spirits Rule 66
http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/content/documents/mpc/msds/0248MAR019.pdf
Also remember they were using a flare gun to ignite, burning magnesium probably at 1,800°F or more.
Which reminds me of these lines from the movie "Unforgiven":
Little Bill Daggett: Well, sir, you are a cowardly son of a bitch! You just shot an unarmed man!
Will Munny: Well, he should have armed himself if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend.
I would be absolutely delighted to stand in line for days in order to get a ticket for such a cruise :-)
If what I see stuffed in the end of those bulbs is what they use for toilet paper, they are indeed tough men.
Sounds like an excellent opportunity for private enterprise to step in where Governments have failed.
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