Posted on 05/06/2010 3:55:10 AM PDT by Freelance Warrior
Russian sailors from the large anti-submarine ship "Marshal Shaposhnikov" on Thursday freed a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a high-ranking official from the maritime coalition forces has reported.
The "Moscow University" with 23 Russian crewmembers and 86,000 tons of oil was hijacked by Somali pirates on Wednesday.
The official said the crew was unharmed and the pirates had been detained, adding that the Russian Navy crew from the "Marshal Shaposhnikov" was currently on board the tanker.
Other sources (in Russian) below:
http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/20100506/231151892.html
http://palm.newsru.com/world/06may2010/free.html
10 pirates have been detained, some of them wounded. One pirate was killed during the attack. They are to be transported to Moscow for trial. According to the Russian Criminal Code they can face up to 15 years inprisonment.
The "Novoship" shipping company which ownes the hijacked ship praised high the crew's actions during the attack (website). They said the sailors stopped the engines and took cover in the machine compartment so the pirates failed either to take them hostage or to take control of the ship. It was adrift until the Russian warship came.
Wow. Fast, smooth and effective. We could do the same, I’m sure. If we didn’t have JAG’s and a commie-muzzie prez.
face up to 15 years inprisonment
Sounds like light punishment but keep in mind, this won't be "easy time". They won't be coddled.
I am waiting for the Russian Warship`s “ Political Officer”
to report that unfortunately the Somalis “escaped” somewhere between their current position and the home port.
The sharks trailing the Warship mean nothing, ignore them.
One can only hope.
I hope none of the sailors lost their temper and gave any pirate a split lip. /s
You beat me to it Sam. I was about to post the exact same thing.
Yeah, well, it’s not hard to come up with examples of how the liberals and obomunists have destroyed and are destroying our defense capabilities, is it?
It may be luck, but it may be that the Russians are learning and have raised their skill level.
This was a huge accomplishment with equal positive publicity for Russia.
It looks like the tanker’s crew took the right steps which made the commandos’ job way easier.
The Russians have nowhere near our level of expertise. But they also have nowhere near our level of self-imposed restrictions on the use of that expertise. Too bad for us.
Wonder if they were “mirandized” before they were fed to the sharks!
Is a mirandize a condiment tasty to sharks?
Agreed. As the tanker crew was Russian under a flag of convenience, there may have been coordination in planning.
If the Rooskies are anything like they used to be, the one who was killed outright was probably the lucky one.
I’m a little surprised that they took any alive, actually.
Perhaps they can tenderly persuade the captives to give up some actionable intel... do you suppose?
Agreed, I proffered they were learning.
they also have nowhere near our level of self-imposed restrictions on the use of that expertise.
Darwin.
We did. Once. But it was in April of 2009, so I regard it as "Bush-era inertia."
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