Come on Rose!! We are the good guys!!

Yes, but you're also putting the life of the crew in danger. That has to be a consideration.

I expect the Saudis will pay the ransom, and the SEALS or the SBS will have a little sabatical in Somalia later on to give out some erm, instruction, on Maritime law to the natives.....

Two new ship have been taken according to CNN. Some sort of military action is going to be necessary.

if the msideed was a sheer act of terrorism,  they would have killed the crew and blow up the ship.  terrorism might not even be involved.  the act could be to get loot.  ransom the crew?  maybe but sometimes money is worth more than human life.  but the ship with or without the oil could be worth a few hundred mill.  maybe the saudis are in on the act,  they wanted the price of oil to go up.  a few piracy acts will cause an oil price spike.

"No information today. No comment," a Somali pirate shouts over the sound of breaking waves, before abruptly ending the satellite telephone call.

He sounds uptight - anxious to see if a multi-million dollar ransom demand will be met.

He is on board the hijacked Ukrainian vessel, MV Faina - the ship laden with 33 Russian battle tanks that has highlighted the problem of piracy off the Somali coast since it was captured almost a month ago.

But who are these modern-day pirates?

According to residents in the Somali region of Puntland where most of the pirates come from, they live a lavish life.  

"They have money; they have power and they are getting stronger by the day," says Abdi Farah Juha who lives in the regional capital, Garowe.
They wed the most beautiful girls; they are building big houses; they have new cars; new guns," he says.

"Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable. They have become fashionable."

Most of them are aged between 20 and 35 years - in it for the money.

And the rewards they receive are rich in a country where almost half the population need food aid after 17 years of non-stop conflict.

Most vessels captured in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden fetch on average a ransom of $2m.

This is why their hostages are well looked after.

The BBC's reporter in Puntland, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, says it also explains the tight operation the pirates run.

They are never seen fighting because the promise of money keeps them together.

Wounded pirates are seldom seen and our reporter says he has never heard of residents along Puntland's coast finding a body washed ashore.

Given Somalia's history of clan warfare, this is quite a feat.

It probably explains why a report of a deadly shoot-out amongst the pirates onboard the MV Faina was denied by the vessel's hijackers.

Pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told the BBC Somali Service at the time: "Everybody is happy. We were firing guns to celebrate Eid."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7650415.stm

Taj  #22

?????????????

Where is there any evidence that most of the crew are Muslim?

piracy made the news on CBS.  there have been several such acts.  and it is all about money.  it seems that the fishing grounds of some somalias have run out of fish.  so now they fish for boats.

 

Is the Not Taking of action by the west, in particularly the US a precursor for the UN to approve an INVASION of Somalia?  The Pirates are operating openly and with impunity and have actual control of at least on port city and on their way to control another.

Safety on the high seas is a personal concern form me; however if one chooses the high seas as a profession, it is understood that there are risks involved. In my mind the issue here is not the immediate safety for the crew; but the long term affects of piracy on international trade. The 1# goal should be preventing a act like this in the future and Saudi Arabia of all nations should focus on denying pirates any personal gain from this action.

we are talking about something far greater then a few individuals that have chosen a risky lifestyle for financial gain. A very limited military action should be carried out on those whom planned, executed and profited from this action. If they can manage a 100% safety for the crew; then that is certainly a worthy ideal to pursue. However the nation (Saudi Arabia), the economy, world trade and reducing piracy on the high seas is the upmost importance and all other considerations are subordinate.

The US and the rest of the West should not be involved; except for providing support like intelligence (satellite photos and such). Primarily because we are limited on many courses of actions that our traditions prevent us form doing; but they can gleeful embrace. Then of course if they use methods that we do not approve of, it should be understood that we will publically say they did a boo, boo.