US Sailboat Taken Hostage by Pirates

[belimom]

A Pentagon briefing via phone call:

Video/audio:
http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/?pid=HI2KurgYEKrACKIk3FjBPkDv7dLjw8Do

Transcript:
http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4774

 

[Nancy2441]

I am just heartbroken over this story.

The media here in Southern California has been covering this story everyday and I had been hoping for a good outcome.

Praying for Jean and Scott Adam, Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle and their loved ones.

 

[Dallasdon]

I was not aware of the scope of this problem-
Remember the Iranian hostage situation, and how upsetting that was?
That was minor compared to this.

Over 40 Vessels and Almost 700 Hostages Held in Somalia by Pirates
http://www.groundreport.com/World/Over-40-Vessels-and-Almost-700-Hostages-Held-in-So/2932296

 

[Kimberlyd125]

What a horrible outcome!

My prayers go out to the families who are hurting.

 

[lucimhome]

May they all RIP! How sad... just wondering why?????? the PP below is from the CBS News 2/2011......... Why go there? They knew the dangers.


"Around Christmas the Quest joined the Blue Water Rally, an around-the-world race. But race organizers said the Quest recently left the race despite what Fox said were warnings about the dangers of sailing in Horn of Africa region."

 

[Nancy2441]

So sad for these two couples, and their families and friends. It's so scary to me how much our world has changed.

 

[belimom]

May they all RIP! How sad... just wondering why?????? the PP below is from the CBS News 2/2011......... Why go there? They knew the dangers.


"Around Christmas the Quest joined the Blue Water Rally, an around-the-world race. But race organizers said the Quest recently left the race despite what Fox said were warnings about the dangers of sailing in Horn of Africa region."

I think alot of cruisers take that route as opposed to going around the tip of southern Africa. And many more make it safely than have run-ins with pirates. The waters there are quite dangerous - so I guess they take their chances: pirates vs Mother Nature. The other couple had previously made this trip with the same rally a couple of years ago. Follow this link and scroll down about 1/4 of the way to their experience in the Gulf of Aden with traveling in a convoy, etc.:

http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/Gaia Diaries/index.htm

It's not clear why the crew of Quest went on their own across the Indian Ocean, but organizers of the Blue Water Rally have said that the real organization into groups came later, to cross the Gulf of Aden (as described above):

Ironically, after more than 6 years of roaming the globe together, they joined our rally for the added security we could offer through the Gulf of Aden. Sadly, they did not get that far as the pirate activity has spread out across the Indian Ocean at an alarming rate over the past few months.

http://www.yachtrallies.co.uk/

We have friends doing this right now - and know of others who skip the area altogether. We have taken a shorter trip on our sailboat before (about a year) and hope to go longer someday. If the piracy is still an issue, I think we'll take our chances against Mother Nature - and just wait for the best 'weather window'...

(ETA: I've asked the mods to move this back to "Crimes in the News", as it really was a very horrific crime and not just 'news'...)

 

[lucimhome]

Thanks Belimom for the info. I get the whole living your dream part. It's just so confusing.
I'm with you on taken chances with mother nature. I hope your friends stay safe.
I'm sure you'll keep us updated when you go on your trip.

 

[i.b.nora]

This map has helped me to understand their locations:

 

[Nancy2441]

Friends remember Americans killed by pirates


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/23/somalia.us.yacht/index.html?hpt=C2

 

[belimom]

I.B.Nora - thanks for the map. I posted one earlier from Quest's website but it has since been taken down - and obviously didn't contain where they were taken hostage/killed, only their planned route.

I listened to the entire Pentagon briefing, and I believe the location where they were when they were killed was a little south of where it is in the map above - Socotra Island is the island you can see to the right of the red dot in the map above, off the coast of Somalia:

(from the transcript linked posted above)
Q: How far off the coast of Somalia did this occur?

ADM. FOX: This is approximately -- if you've got a map before you, it's approximately midway between the island of Socotra and the north tip of Somalia. It's a little bit -- if you -- if you had an equidistant point between Socotra and Somalia, it's just a little bit on the closer side to Somalia.

 

[belimom]

This article gives a lot of in-depth details about what happened, including questioning the decision to detain the first two pirates who came aboard the Sterett for negotiations:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/world/africa/24pirates.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

 

[i.b.nora]

That was a good article, however it sounded to me more like, the FBI hostage negotiator read the motivations or whatever of the two pirates who had come aboard the Navy ship wrong, and that is what at least in part, led to the deaths of the hostages.

Apparently, FBI hostage negotiators had been used before, successfully, when the Danish ship, piloted by an American captain was overtaken by pirates. However, the FBI people were in Quantico and did it by telephone.

In this case, it sounds like the negotiator was on the Navy ship. But, I can't tell for sure, and it sounds like it was one person as opposed to a team of people.

With that said, its unfortunate, especially since it hasn't been the pattern of the pirates to kill the hostages. The pattern has been to get them to shore and hold them prisoner.

What I don't understand is why, the Adam family and friends decided to essentially go off on their own and attempt to navigate pirate infested waters? They had all the time in the world it seems, why didn't they go around Africa? Others were having their yachts shipped and meeting up with them in places like Turkey, but the cost of that seems exhorbitant to me.

Here is an article about leisure sailors. It mentions that Adam was offered the opportunity to include his yacht in transport across the Arabian Sea, but it would have cost $35,000. "Mr. Adam declined. The Quest was planning to sail as part of a convoy for safety. Plus, circumnavigating the globe under his own steam "was a life-long quest," Mr. Rouse said Mr. Adam told him.

"He smiled," Mr. Rouse recalled, "because of the obvious pun."

So, what happened to the convoy for safety?

Pirate Attacks Force Leisure Sailors to Change Course

 

[belimom]

ib nora, I can't figure that out either. If you go to the website of Bob Riggle, you can see that he made the transit with the convoy a couple of years ago. Actually, they don't write about crossing the Indian Ocean but they do write about the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea - and the convoy, warships assisting, etc.

http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/Gaia Diaries/index.htm (about 1/4 of the way down the page, Gulf of Aden)

I don't think we'll ever know, but I'm sure it was for a good reason. I do know that someone had written that the route taken that goes the farthest from Somalia is 40% longer than a straight line across the Indian Ocean, meaning that you're out there 40% longer as a sitting duck. Perhaps they decided to take the quick route?

I'm leaning towards this myself, in the absence of any other info: Perhaps they had electrical issues and couldn't radio the others to tell them they had been separated during the night? They were not using the built-in VHF as it is stronger and carries farther - they were using handheld VHF radios only, which carry a short distance. And I believe they were using their radios as little as possible so as not to alert pirates to their location, so if they became separated, they may have thought they could find the others again without using the radio (which would put not only themselves but the convoy in further danger). The handheld VHF probably was out of range, yet using the built-in radio with the boat antenna would have carried far enough for pirates to pick up the broadcast. And an SSB or HAM would have been out of the question.

There is another pirate story that is kind of nice to read in the face of all of this, considering the folks got away and the pirates perished:

The 2nd entry... "8 March, 2005, YEMEN - Violent Pirate Attack On Two Yachts"

http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2009-01-21-5

 

[Nancy2441]

Since 2007, pirates have acted with considerable impunity. According to the International Maritime Bureau, "The number of pirate attacks against ships has risen every year for the last four years... Ships reported 445 attacks in 2010, up 10% from 2009. While 188 crew members were taken hostage in 2006, 1,050 were taken in 2009 and 1,181 in 2010."


http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/26/etzioni.stop.piracy/index.html?hpt=T2

 

[Melly53]

ib nora, I can't figure that out either. If you go to the website of Bob Riggle, you can see that he made the transit with the convoy a couple of years ago. Actually, they don't write about crossing the Indian Ocean but they do write about the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea - and the convoy, warships assisting, etc.

http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/Gaia%20Diaries/index.htm (about 1/4 of the way down the page, Gulf of Aden)

I don't think we'll ever know, but I'm sure it was for a good reason. I do know that someone had written that the route taken that goes the farthest from Somalia is 40% longer than a straight line across the Indian Ocean, meaning that you're out there 40% longer as a sitting duck. Perhaps they decided to take the quick route?

I'm leaning towards this myself, in the absence of any other info: Perhaps they had electrical issues and couldn't radio the others to tell them they had been separated during the night? They were not using the built-in VHF as it is stronger and carries farther - they were using handheld VHF radios only, which carry a short distance. And I believe they were using their radios as little as possible so as not to alert pirates to their location, so if they became separated, they may have thought they could find the others again without using the radio (which would put not only themselves but the convoy in further danger). The handheld VHF probably was out of range, yet using the built-in radio with the boat antenna would have carried far enough for pirates to pick up the broadcast. And an SSB or HAM would have been out of the question.

There is another pirate story that is kind of nice to read in the face of all of this, considering the folks got away and the pirates perished:

The 2nd entry... "8 March, 2005, YEMEN - Violent Pirate Attack On Two Yachts"

http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2009-01-21-5

The Quest chose to voluntarily leave the safety of the convoy and strike out on their own.

http://www.yachtrallies.co.uk/index.php/blue-water-rally/295-s-v-quest.html

Scott and Jean Adam joined the Oz-Med section of the Blue Water Rally just before Christmas and had been sailing with the rally from Phuket as far as Mumbai. Quest had taken on board two well known rally participants: Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle. However, Quest chose to take an independent route from Mumbai to Salalah, leaving the Rally on 15 February.

 

[STEADFAST]

From the link posted below:

One reason, we are told, is that because the oceans are so large, we have a hard time finding the pirates. One cannot but wonder, if all our satellites, AWACs, radar and sonar cannot help us locate a few boats, what we will do if agents of a foreign power, using similar boats only with stronger engines, attack our ships? Even more puzzling is, why do we need to find them? They regularly present themselves. After all, to take hostages, they must close in on ships.

This paragraph is idiotic in so many ways! First of all, the entire area is teaming with boats, most of which are fishing, carrying goods, carrying passengers, etc. This is a major maritime trade area. It's not like the pirates are speeding around with "PIRATES" printed on the sides of their boats or flying the jolly roger or anything.

Secondly, U.S. Navy ships are out there continually boarding small boats, all day, every day. My husband is on one of those Navy ships right now. Only the tiniest smidge of a percent of the boats in that area are pirate boats -- you can board every single small boat you see for months and months and none might turn out to be pirates. And, by the way, looking for pirates is not the most important mission of our Navy ships in that area or even the most important reason that they would board small boats. The contents of a given small boat in the Middle East could kill many more than the number of casualties attributed to pirates.

And, by the way, pirate boats do not approach Navy warships as the article seems to imply. Since Yemen, NO small boats are allowed to approach a Navy warship -- we board them, not the other way around.

 

[belimom]

I noticed that the website for Quest is back up (www.svquest.com). I was reading it and saw this... I don't think that's how the other two crew came aboard, but it was chilling just reading it.

bbm

I thought we should have a contest and see if you can figure out where this guy on the left came from!! The winner gets to join Scott & myself for our trip across the Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea to the Med. Hurry up before this offer expires!

 

[Trino]

And, now a Danish yacht.

The Danish parents had an anti-piracy plan. What were they thinking? Each day they publicly gave their location, making themselves sitting ducks. They must have thought the term "pirate" described rouges from hundreds of years ago. Did they think the pirates had no Internet?

IMO this second piracy isn't going to end well. Keep in mind the pirates may very well be nearly the same ages as the Danish children and probably don't consider the youths to be children. Rape? Murder?

How much longer will world corporations and governments allow a few irresponsible, drugged-up pirates to terrorize world transportation? It is my understanding there have been more hi-jackings in the early months of this year than in all of last year.

 

[Melly53]

Pirates warn that the Danish hostages will be killed if any attempt is made to rescue them.


http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/01/blog-shows-hijacked-family-knew-piracy-risk/

I hope this ends better for them than it did for the 4 Americans taken hostage last week.