Great way to dispose of illegal drug ships

[Konovalov]

Drug freighter meets spectacular end

The North Korean drug freighter Pong Su sinking after a Royal Australian Air Force F-111 strike.
Photo: PA

March 23, 2006 - 5:45PM

The North Korean heroin smuggling ship Pong Su has been sunk off the NSW coast by a bomb dropped from an RAAF F-111 jet fighter.

The 3,500-tonne freighter, which was used to import 150kg of heroin into Australia, was sent to the bottom of the ocean 140km off the the NSW south coast in a military exercise this morning.

Australian Federal Police confirmed the ship was sunk after the RAAF completed safety checks and cleared the area.

The freighter was towed out of Sydney Harbour on Tuesday, where it had been berthed since it was seized three years ago after a four-day chase by Australian soldiers, federal police and customs officers.

The Pong Su was intercepted off the NSW Central Coast in April 2003 after dropping off a cargo of drugs on the coast of Victoria.

"After Navy towed the Pong Su from Sydney Harbour, the vessel was sunk approximately 140 kilometres off Jervis Bay in deep water using two 2000-pound high explosive laser guided bombs as part of an exercise involving four RAAF F-111 strike aircraft," said a department of defence statement.

"The activity provided the Air Force with significant training value for maritime strike operations. These types of opportunities are rare and allow Orion and F-111 aircrew to train against a realistic target."

Earlier this month, four Pong Su officers accused of aiding and abetting the importation of heroin were acquitted and released.

However four other men involved in the operation earlier pleaded guilty and two have been jailed.

The Pong Su has been costing Australian taxpayers about $2,500 a day to maintain, while the taxpayer-funded defence of the four ship's officers has been estimated at up to $3 million.

AFP commander Frank Prendergast said the sinking of the ship showed the police's resolve to fight drugs.

"The AFP is committed to working with its partner agencies to disrupt organised importation or drugs and protect the community from the devastating effects of the illegal drug trade," he said in a statement.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty later sent a warning to drug criminals who sought to breach Australia's borders.

"... We will seize the profits of those activities and we will deal with the vessel or whatever is used to bring the heroin to Australia ... in an appropriate way," Mr Keelty said.

"The sinking of the vessel [Pong Su] is a clear international indication that Australia and certainly the AFP take this very seriously."

AAP

[jumpy]

Interesting stuff, but I wonder, was it made ecologically sound ie. remove oil contaminants/chemicals etc before it was bombed into the depths? [/treehugger mode]

On the other hand I'd have prefered to see it torpedoed, or maybe dispatched to davey jones' locker by naval bombardment

[Sixpack]

Hi back Konovalov,

Good news and what a great target for strike exercises

I wondered about this part tho':

"The AFP is committed to working with its partner agencies to disrupt organised importation or drugs and protect the community from the devastating effects of the illegal drug trade,"

Juicy ?
Did this guy perhaps shoot off his mouth about the profittable legal drug trade, meaning: 'state controlled' ?

[AG124]

Interesting stuff, but I wonder, was it made ecologically sound ie. remove oil contaminants/chemicals etc before it was bombed into the depths? [/treehugger mode]

On the other hand I'd have prefered to see it torpedoed, or maybe dispatched to davey jones' locker by naval bombardment

There's an article on Subsim's main page about it today (March 23rd) - apparently, the vessel was indeed cleaned of pollutants first. Also, the navy did want to torpedo her, but couldn't get a submarine there in time and had to let the air force handle it.

[TLAM Strike]

To quote my Dad:
"They should have did it with the crew aboard."

:rotfl:

[STEED]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

To quote my Dad:
"They should have did it with the crew aboard."

:rotfl:

:rotfl:

[Rockstar]

The United States does the same thing. Boats are cleaned out to be enviromentally friendly as per IAW SOP and sunk by various methods.

I've witnessed several former drug boats off the shores of Florida bombed by the USAF and others rigged to explode by certain miltary units. Most are in depths where divers can enjoy them.

In other instances such as illegal imigration, we removed the people then shot the living crap out of them with 25mm HEI or burned'em to the water line in front of the illegals hoping to discourage further attempts.

[Torplexed]

The Australian government is a sterling model of efficiency compared to the bungled job done by state and federal officials here a few years back off the Oregon Coast

The M/V New Carissa, a Japanese-owned wood chip freighter, ran aground Feb. 4 1999 about 150 yards offshore of Oregon with nearly 400,000 gallons of tar-like bunker oil aboard.



At this point the ship could have been properly salvaged, or been allowed to remain on the beach as a "Tourist Attraction" which would have helped Coos County's ailing economy. But................... smart people had better ideas.

Because of all the out cry by environmentalists the people in charge decided to burn the fuel oil off. They got a wee bit carried away with the explosives and failed to take into account cracks appearing in the hull. The result is below....they blew the blessed thing in half!



After that fiasco it was decided to tow the bow section out to sea. It took a few days of steady pulling on the bow section to pry it loose from the sand and it was towed 40 miles out to sea. That's when a really nasty storm front blew in. The bow broke loose from the tug and headed for Yachats Oregon, fifty miles north. It beached itself again. Now the New Carissa became the longest ship in the world. (It was fifty miles from the bow to the stern!)



The tug had to pull the bow section of the Carissa off the beach for a second time. They towed her several miles off shore where a Navy demolition team boarded her and set charges below the waterline. They set the charges off. The New Carissa refused to sink! So they called in the Spruance Class destroyer David R. Ray. The destroyer placed more than 70 rounds of five inch shells into her at the water line......... nothing happened, she still refused to sink...



Finally they called in the nuclear submarine Bremerton which proceeded to fire a torpedo into her. The New Carissa still took about 45 minutes to sink. The Yamato should have been built so well!



Salvage experts said sinking the ship 300 miles out in the Pacific was the only way to finish off a wayward wreck that has fouled two Oregon beaches and was still believed to hold 130,000 gallons of fuel oil. At depths of 12,000 feet, where temperatures never rise above 34 degrees, experts say the sticky bunker fuel will be trapped in a semisolid state.

Last I heard the stern section was still firmly in place...leaching oil. Lawyers are still fighting over who is to blame.

[scandium]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

The Australian government is a sterling model of efficiency compared to the bungled job done by state and federal officials here a few years back off the Oregon Coast

The M/V New Carissa, a Japanese-owned wood chip freighter, ran aground Feb. 4 1999 about 150 yards offshore of Oregon with nearly 400,000 gallons of tar-like bunker oil aboard....

That was a fascinating read and the photos were a nice touch too. That was one very, very badly bungled op

[Konovalov]

Originally Posted by scandium

That was a fascinating read and the photos were a nice touch too. That was one very, very badly bungled op

I second that. Whoever was responsible for those decisions, please don't come to Australia and ruin our pristine coastline.

[Abraham]

@ Torplexed:
Nice story and well documentated with pictures - although I like your drawings better.
@ Konovalov:
Missed you a while, mate. Welcome back!

[AG124]

There's a couple of trawlers anchored in my hometown now that have been confiscated for failing to pay harbour dues. They are due to be sunk at sea someday (no one wants to buy them for scrap) - maybe there will be footage on CBC. If there is, I will post a link. (I remember watching an old trawler being scuttled on the news when I was about 6 years old - it was really cool but they didn't show very much).

[Konovalov]

Originally Posted by Abraham

@ Torplexed:
Nice story and well documentated with pictures - although I like your drawings better.
@ Konovalov:
Missed you a while, mate. Welcome back!

Thanks. Just been too much happening in the real world of recent with little free time.

[Skybird]

Any way to lure you into our new chess lobby...? Or are you already learning how to park a tank in reverse into a small parking lot?

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Or are you already learning how to park a tank in reverse into a small parking lot?

Parking tanks is easy


Reminds me of an old Kenny Everitt sketch
"Having parking problems? Buy your own Sherman tank!" *flattens car*