Maersk Alabama & USS Bainbridge “Pirate” Hostage Drama-RESCUED!
(L) CDR Frank Castellano of USS Bainbridge and (R) Captain Richard Phillips following his rescue by the US Navy
Welcome Home Captain!
The 28 foot Maersk Alabama lifeboat in which Capt Phillips was held hostage in (Navy Photo)
Capt Phillips
UPDATE! Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.
Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.
Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vt., was transported to the USS Bainbridge nearby.
Oh yeah….Letting the Navy do what they’re trained to do…what a concept! The Navy and SEAL Team 6 regains the United States honor, as all the branches do on a daily basis.
At the time of the shootings, the fourth pirate was aboard the USS Bainbridge negotiating with officials, the source said. That pirate was taken into custody. 3 shots, 3 dead sea thugs….
Phillips was rescued at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET), according to the Navy.
“An interesting video has surfaced made by Somali pirates following the capture of the Yasa Neslihan, a Turkish owned bulk carrier flying under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The ship was hijacked back in October, 2008 and the crew was released in January 2009 following a ransom payment. Check it out on Wired.com!”
News FLASH!
It’s my opinion President Obama exhibited a stunning example of leadership by calling the captain of the destroyer USS Bainbridge and giving him the go ahead to take action should it become necessary. And let me remind you, he called not once but twice! It takes a great deal of energy, personal strength, sacrifice and leadership abilities to pick up the phone, dial it and speak into the talky-talky part.
Apparently Obama did it all by himself too, except maybe the picking up the receiver part and dialing, that’s what aides are for, but I’m almost sure he did the talking. You don’t learn that kind of leadership at a community organizing school, no-siree bob….that’s the kind of thing only the very best and brightest telemarketer can pull out of his bag of tricks in times of stress and impending doom.
To interrupt playtime with the 6 month old Portuguese “water” dog “Bo”; given to him by Senator Ted “Swimmer” Kennedy, took a great deal of personal sacrifice.
Had Obama not taken the initiative and talked into the bat phone at such a crucial time, things might be so much different. It’s obvious to me that CDR Frank Castellano of the USS Bainbridge; the seasoned but inexperienced captain of DDG96, is unable to lead as well as Obama for crying out loud. Without Obama’s guidance and encouragement, we all might being chewing on wads of “ghat”.
Saved by Zero…
By now, we’re all familiar with the MV Maersk Alabama (formerly MV Maersk Alva) hostage drama unfolding in the Indian Ocean. The situation in fluid, changing by the minute. At the time of this writing, Capt Richard Phillps of Underhill, VT is still being held hostage, but the lifeboat he and the “pirates” (read: TERRORISTS) occupy has run out of fuel and is apparently adrift, closely monitored by the USS Bainbridge. The FBI has been called in to handle negotiations apparently. Personally, I think the FBI should just stay home and the Bureau of NAVY SEALS should exercise their form of negotiations, but that’s just me.
It still baffles me as to why some of these shipping companies, especially those flying the American flag, have failed to provide the crews with security teams trained to thwart attacks like this. It isn’t like there aren’t companies out there that actually specialize in this sort of threat. With the amount of money these shipping companies spend securing insurance on cargo and now coming to light, insurance to cover the cost of ransoms paid, you’d think it would be more cost effective to hire a trained and armed security team to accompany these crews through the more threatening seas.
I understand that some ports refuse to accept “armed” ships, or ships that are carrying armed security teams, but you’d think with over 82 million dollars spent towards ransom demands, those who make decisions within these shipping companies would find some common sense.
Kudos go out to the crew of the MV Maersk Alabama for kicking some serious ass when this whole thing started, and of course, major ass kudos go out to Capt Richard Phillips for showing some American courage that seems to be lacking these days. It takes a helluva man to give himself up like that in order to save his crew from further harm. Obviously, Capt Phillips bows to NO MAN, unlike a certain community organizer we’ve come to know.
“Sometime overnight, captain Phillips got away for a short period, and jumped off the lifeboat in an attempt to swim away, probably managing to escape through the lifeboat’s backdoor. The drama was witnessed at some distance by the U.S. Navy, but it reportedly happened so quickly they could not provide assistance.”
Billions of dollars in assets parked in the Indian Ocean, the most modern Navy the world has ever seen, some of the finest minds in charge of those assets…..and he’s recaptured. I’m thinking, now of course I’m no Navy man mind you, but wouldn’t you think some would plan for that eventuality, that he might attempt escape during the hours of darkness? It has to be a Washington thing….
Maybe it’s time to bring the crew of the MV Maersk Alabama back….or the Marines.
Best wishes to the family of Capt Phillips.
Anyway, I thought I’d post some stuff that some of you might find interesting, I did.
Navy Photo of Maersk Alabama Lifeboat (Open hatch shown where "pirates" were taken out apparently)
A lifeboat similar to the one Capt Phillips is being held on
The MV Maersk Alabama, formerly known as the MV Alva Maersk
Maersk Alabama in port, Kenya
Navy Photo
The crew of MV Maersk Alabama during news conference
USS Bainbridge tows MV Maersk Alabama's lifeboat, USS Boxer in background
The USS Bainbridge-DDG96 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer
Crew from USS Bainbridge patrolling the waters around the Yemeni island of Jabal at-Tair (Navy photo by Specialist 3rd Class Vincent J. Street)
USS Bainbridge DDG96 Firing
General Characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Displacement: 9,200 tons
Length: 509 ft 6 in (155.3 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h)
Range: 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots
(8,100 km at 37 km/h)
Complement: 270 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:
• AN/SPY-1D Radar
• AN/SPS-67(V)2 Surface Search Radar
• AN/SPS-64(V)9 Surface Search Radar
• AN/SQS-53C Sonar Array
• AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar
• AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III Shipboard System
Electronic warfare and decoys:
• AN/SLQ-32(V)2 Electronic Warfare System
• AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures
• MK 36 MOD 12 Decoy Launching System
• AN/SLQ-39 CHAFF Buoys
Armament:
1 x 32 cell, 1 x 64 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems, 96 x RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc, missiles
1 x 5/62 in (127/62 mm), 2 x 25 mm, 4 x 12.7 mm guns
2 x Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried: 2 x SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters
Anyone want to venture a guess at whether or not a Navy Seal Team is aboard?
And Then Two More Smell Blood
USS Boxer LHD4
General Characteristics, Wasp Class
Builder: Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Ingalls Operations, Pascagoula, MS.
Date Deployed: July 29, 1989 (USS Wasp)
Propulsion: (LHDs 1–7) two boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, 70,000 total shaft horsepower LHD 8 two gas turbines, two shafts 70,000 total shaft horsepower- two 5,000 horsepower auxiliary propulsion motors.
Length: 844 feet (253.2 meters).
Beam: 106 feet (31.8 meters).
Displacement: LHDs 1-4: 40,650 tons full load (41,302.3 metric tons)
LHDs 5-7: 40,358 tons full load (41,005.6 metric tons)
LHD 8: 41,772 tons full load (42,442.3 metric tons).
Speed: 20+ knots (23.5+ miles per hour).
Crew: Ships Company: 104 officers, 1,004 enlisted
LHD 8: 65 officers, 994 enlisted
Marine Detachment: 1,687 troops (plus 184 surge).
Armament: Two RAM launchers; two NATO Sea Sparrow launchers; three 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts (two on LHD 5-8); four .50 cal. machine guns; four 25 mm Mk 38 machine guns (LHD 5-8 have three 25 mm Mk 38 machine guns).
Aircraft: 12 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters; 4 CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters; 6 AV-8B Harrier attack aircraft; 3 UH-1N Huey helicopters; 4 AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters. (planned capability to embark MV-22 Osprey VTOL tilt-rotors).
USS Halyburton FFG 40
General Characteristics, Oliver Hazard Perry Class
Builder: Bath Iron Works: FFG 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21, 24, 26, 29, 32, 34, 36, 39, 42, 45, 47, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59
Todd Shipyards, Seattle: FFG 10, 17, 18, 20, 22, 28, 31, 35, 37, 40, 44, 48, 52, 61
Todd Shipyards, San Pedro, Calif.: FFG 9, 12, 14, 19, 23, 30, 33, 38, 41, 43, 46, 51, 54, 57, 60.
Date Deployed: 17 December 1977 (Oliver Hazard Perry)
Propulsion: Two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines; 1 shaft, 41,000 shaft horsepower total.
Length: 445 feet (133.5 meters); 453 feet (135.9 meters) with LAMPS III modification.
Beam: 45 feet (13.5 meters).
Displacement: 4,100 tons (4,165.80 metric tons) full load.
Speed: 29 plus knots (33.4+ miles per hour).
Crew: 17 Officers, 198 Enlisted.
Armament: Six MK-46 torpedoes(from two triple mounts); One 76 mm (3-inch)/62 caliber MK 75 rapid fire gun; One Phalanx close-in-weapons system.
Aircraft: Two SH-60 (LAMPS III) in FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-61
One SH-2 (Lamps Mk-I) in FFG 9-19, 30, 31.
Links:
Maersk Alabama (Formerly Known As MV Alva Maersk)
Naval Special Warfare (Official Site)
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I agree completely. While I feel sorry for the captain, I stand by the opinion of shoot first and screw asking questions. Put a round though the boat, people become a whole lot more cooperative when water is rising up around their ankles. The old expression
sink or swim…….a couple of divers in the water with a spare tank for the captain, and let the rest be fish bait.
Gary
Ya know, you’d think with all the assets they have on scene, they’d have an “asset” they can actually use, notably a SEAL Team. If the SEALS aren’t on station, why not? They can certainly get a team there.
I’m thinking it’s time to become proactive, take the initiative. Have a team deploy, punch a friggin hole in the boat and get them in the water….or something. I’m not a SEAL obviously, but I have been in situations where ingenuity was required…and action. The skidmarks are threatening to kill the Captain now…it’s time to put all that training to use.
The Navy is a highly trained outfit, as is all our branches…they have the technology.
Obama hilariously calls for global cooperation against terrorists at the G20, tells the American people in yesterday’s radio address that the United States should “lead the way”, yet we bow down to countries who would protect terrorists on the high seas by not allowing armed security when everyone knows full-well what’s going on out there. Anyone want to publish who’s getting rich from insuring ships and their cargo at the expense of American lives?
What a bunch of Nancy-boys. My heart breaks for Captain Phillips and his family, but God knows he is not just a hero, he is really and truly a leader. The kind we don’t have in Washington.
This isn’t about the Navy anymore, this is about a bunch of fcking wussies in Washington. Obama and his bowing band of fktards will again, embarrass the United States.