USS Whidbey Island Helps Japanese Ship Beset by Pirates

The United States Navy reports that the USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), a dock landing ship, is standing by to help the freed hostages aboard the Japanese owned ship, Golden Nori. The Golden Nori was seized by Somali pirates in late October.

At that time, the USS Porter, a destroyer, opened fire on one of the pirate skiffs and set it afire. Other pirates were already aboard the Golden Nori, so the pattern was set. International negotiations had to begin, with various governments involved, for example, Japan, which owns the ship, the Philippines, which has sailors on the ship, and the fledgling government in Somalia. The US continued to shadow the ship while negotiations took place.

The deal struck is not known, but the pirates are gone.

Usually, pirates approach a ship in skiffs. The pirates are well organized, having GPS systems, fast boats, and relatively advanced weapons. The chaos ashore allows them pretty much free reign, and in fact many of the pirates are backed by militias or clans on shore.

Ships facing pirates have a few options. First, they can take evasive maneuvers and run, radioing US Navy ships for help. The Navy has been stepping up patrols in the important shipping area, and has managed to sink some pirate vessels, or help the crews of ships that have been attacked. A North Korean vessel was attacked and the crew managed to kill some of the pirates. The US was able to offer medical assistance. Sometimes the crew of the attacked vessel has few weapons, or their ship may be very slow. Also, some corporations prefer to negotiate and pay a ransom, rather than risk the ship and its cargo and its crew in a fight.

If that is the case, the ship surrenders, the pirates board it, and negotiations begin.

Issues for the crew are complicated by the fact that they are often hauling highly explosive or flammable materials. For example, until recently, Japanese ships have been helping the Navy to refuel in this general area of operations.

Pirates continue to innovate. They may have a mother ship in the area, one that deploys the skiffs further out at sea to find unsuspecting targets. The US is not the only country fighting pirates in the area. The Germans and the French have been doing so, too, as well as other countries.

The international efforts might be having some success. The Navy reports that with the departure of the pirates, this is the first time in about a year that no vessels are being held hostage.

USS Whidbey, USN