:arrgh!:http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU

all ships must watch out for this scum!:rotfl:

HunterICX

The last graf I trusted had a date in Lakehurst in May '36; my opinion of polls is about the same as my dog's.

[quote=Trex]Did they? The first Q-ships took some u-boats by surprise. The Kaiserliche Marine responded by instituting the first unrestricted submarine war. The u-boats started torpedoing merchants while submerged. Then the British cried "foul!"

I agree with the idea that if you start arming some ships the pirates will just kill everybody and take no chances. On the other hand, if you armed all ships you might give them something to think about.

A lot of the time, these pirates are being funded by the governments that allow them to dock in their country due to bribes. I don't think we'll see these nations do all that much to stop these guys. The pirate organisations are unofficially almost a vital component of their economy. There is even evidence that government officials and shipping officials there will give the pirates information on incomming ships loaded with valuable cargo. :nope:

They Got Them!
 

Kudos to the French Navy.

Photos: http://www.cbc.ca/photogallery/world/1183/
Story: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/0...-released.html

They even managed not to kill all the pirates.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7342292.stm

Pity. There are times where the old concept of tarred ex-pirates with long necks decorating coastlines has a lot going for it.

The pirates didn't harm the crew, no violence so why kill them all and nuke their base. France send a storng message to the pirates : "next time you want highjack a french ship think twice".

The total force we send for the opration is quiet huge:
3 ships + the old Jeanne d'Arc with here helicopters
+50 commandos marines
10 GIGN
1 maritime patrol airplane
and other means that we will never know about.

MSgalileo - a job well done, to be sure.

As to what happens to the pirates, I tend to be a bit more Biblical when it comes to piracy, I guess. It is the act of piracy that put them beyond the pale in the first place; if they had killed somebody, that would be an additional charge against them.

In any case, if these folks are convicted in a Somali court, their end will not be good. If tried in a French court, I suspect that they will be released in (you tell me) five years to go back home and tell everybody how well they were treated. Not that much of a deterent, I feer.

I dont think they will be release in 5 years because piratery is considered as hosti humanis generis by the french law according the international law on sea so it is the same level as crime against humanity and we have special laws in this case.

The women were left alone?
Do you know anything more about GIGN involment, how did they participate?
I was wondering who would get the go for this one.:hmm:

the 7 womens were freed with the crew.

The GIGN was only involved in the negociation (they advise the ship owner), one member of the GIGN was with 2 commandos to give the ransom to the pirates.

10 members of the GIGN + their chief (a colonel) were airdropped near the Cmd Bouan (the french aviso which track the Ponant), their misison was to plan and eventually make an assault on the ship if one of the crew was injured or kill by the pirates.
After the relaese of all the crew members wihout any problems, the GIGN mission was ended and the marines commandos stop the pirates car.

Sorry, i ment that the women werent sexually assaulted by the pirates?

Thank you for the info, again a succesful hostage operation for the French SOF, respect and congratulations.:up: