Pirates attack U.S. cargo ship but fail to get aboard

Posted: May 19, 2012 - 12:26pm

oldviolin wrote:

precious

Yes, they are. Can't wait to see them in July. And then heading north to see 3 of our grandkids.

Posted: May 19, 2012 - 7:32am

hobiejoe wrote:

precious

Posted: May 17, 2012 - 5:42am

hobiejoe wrote:

The Pirate! An Adventure In Facepaint

totally cute kid {#Lol}

priceless!

awesome stuff

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 5:46pm

hobiejoe wrote:

The Pirate! An Adventure In Facepaint

arrrrrrrr!!!

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 5:00pm

BlueHeronDruid wrote:

Hadda check the eye color on that Charlie there.

Yup, that's my boy.

Apparently my big ol' brown eyes are my best only mitigating feature.

Oh, and according to my mate's ex, I also have a wonderful "rich brown" telephone voice. So much so that she was visibly surprised when she saw me in person.

*edit* And the first time she saw me was when she was walking to the alter. Well, at least I made some kind of impression.

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 4:16pm

hobiejoe wrote:

The Pirate! An Adventure In Facepaint

Hadda check the eye color on that Charlie there.

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 3:05pm

ScottFromWyoming wrote:

Excellent! I like the sweater too.

The tee-shirt underneath bears a similar motif as well.

As does his trousers.

And his socks.

And his underpants.

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 2:53pm

hobiejoe wrote:

The Pirate! An Adventure In Facepaint

Excellent! I like the sweater too.

Posted: May 16, 2012 - 2:47pm

The Pirate! An Adventure In Facepaint

Posted: Jul 29, 2009 - 9:19am

Posted: Apr 15, 2009 - 4:10am

Pirates attack U.S. cargo ship but fail to get aboard

(CNN) — The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday night by Somali pirates, according to the company and senior U.S. military officials.

"The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which sustained damage," said a statement from New York-based Liberty Maritime Corporation, which owns the vessel.

The ship is carrying U.S. food aid for African nations, the statement said. About 20 U.S. citizens are aboard the Liberty Sun, delivering humanitarian supplies from the U.N. World Food Programme, CARE and other groups, two senior defense officials told CNN.

The pirates never made it onto the ship and the vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Mombasa, officials said.

Two senior defense officials said the Liberty Sun was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge. It is the ship carrying Richard Phillips, the captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked last week. Phillips spent days as a hostage of the pirates before being rescued Sunday.

Katy Urbik of Wheaton, Illinois, said her son, Thomas, was aboard the Liberty Sun at the time of the attack. She shared the e-mails he sent as the ship came under fire.

"We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets," said one e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon. "We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out.

"Navy is on the way and helos and ships are coming. I'll try to send you another message soon. ot to go now. I love you mom and dad and all my brothers and family."

"My heart stopped after I realized there wasn't going to be a 'just kidding' after his comment," Katy Urbik said.

About 1½ hours later, Thomas Urbik sent another e-mail to his mother, which said, "The navy has showed up in full force and we are now under military escort ... all is well. I love you all and thank you for the prayers."

/snip

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 12:07pm

Zep wrote:

Why would insurance companies care? They're in the business of insuring against risk, and hiring a band of mercenaries to fight a private little war only creates risk.

They can point to increased piracy, then turn to the shippers, and ask for higher premiums.

Beyond losses stemming from inability to use a vessel or get goods to a market, there haven't been major casualty losses. Meaning, a merchant vessel hasn't been sunk, no hostages have been killed (except in the French rescue last week). Why mess with that? If the lines are paying to get their ships out of hock, the insurers are happy.

"Never pay the Dane geld or you'll never get rid of the Dane."
~ Old Saxon Saying ~

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 12:01pm

Zep wrote:

I'm sure he will get over it.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 10:14am

cc_rider wrote:

Yeah, see, I don't know why the insurance companies, the ones who have all the skins in the game, don't step up to the plate. Or the Saudis for that matter: when one of their tankers is taken hostage, you don't see THEM doing anything about it. Besides paying the money, I guess.

There are PLENTY of ex military folks who'd LOVE to kick the crap out of some pirates. For a handsome bounty of course, but hey, you're paying off pirates to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, that would buy a lot of mercenaries.

Why would insurance companies care? They're in the business of insuring against risk, and hiring a band of mercenaries to fight a private little war only creates risk.

They can point to increased piracy, then turn to the shippers, and ask for higher premiums.

Beyond losses stemming from inability to use a vessel or get goods to a market, there haven't been major casualty losses. Meaning, a merchant vessel hasn't been sunk, no hostages have been killed (except in the French rescue last week). Why mess with that? If the lines are paying to get their ships out of hock, the insurers are happy.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 10:07am

cc_rider wrote:

Yeah, see, I don't know why the insurance companies, the ones who have all the skins in the game, don't step up to the plate. Or the Saudis for that matter: when one of their tankers is taken hostage, you don't see THEM doing anything about it. Besides paying the money, I guess.

There are PLENTY of ex military folks who'd LOVE to kick the crap out of some pirates. For a handsome bounty of course, but hey, you're paying off pirates to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, that would buy a lot of mercenaries.

c.

Makes sense to me!

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 10:05am

Zep wrote:

I'm sure he will get over it.

I'm sure this is all water off his back. I admire his restraint; he can address genuine constructive criticism, while ignoring the howls of "He's a Socialist!" (oddly combined with "He's a Fascist!") from the extremist right. He made precisely the right call concerning the use of force in the pirate kidnapping case. The Repubs want a cowboy with blazing six-guns, but they'll have to settle for a grown-up who avoids using unnecessary force instead.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 9:59am

Beaker wrote:

Sorry O'Barry - looks like I'll have to retract my offer of kudos for your performance in this matter. Looks like you don't have a pair after all.

I'm sure he will get over it.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 9:51am

oldslabsides wrote:

It will keep happening until someone takes action against them. Insurance companies have more money than god, perhaps they should hire some mercs.

Yeah, see, I don't know why the insurance companies, the ones who have all the skins in the game, don't step up to the plate. Or the Saudis for that matter: when one of their tankers is taken hostage, you don't see THEM doing anything about it. Besides paying the money, I guess.

There are PLENTY of ex military folks who'd LOVE to kick the crap out of some pirates. For a handsome bounty of course, but hey, you're paying off pirates to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, that would buy a lot of mercenaries.

c.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 6:01am

kysmet wrote:

Somali pirates have taken control of 3 more ships in the last 24 hours *sigh*

It will keep happening until someone takes action against them. Insurance companies have more money than god, perhaps they should hire some mercs.

Posted: Apr 14, 2009 - 4:11am

Somali pirates have taken control of 3 more ships in the last 24 hours *sigh*