The Panther Bay
Pirate Blog

The rescue of American and French citizens from pirates appears to have sent the pirates into a bit of a frenzy. Another attack on a U.S. merchant ship  (the 738 foot Liberty Sun) with small arms and rocket propelled grenades was repulsed. But what caught my eye was the attitude of the pirates. They seem truly incensed that someone might really start to fight them.

According to the Wall Street Journal (15 April 2009):

A pirate whose gang attacked the aid ship told the Associated Press Wednesday that his group was targeting American ships and sailors.

"We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them," said a 25-year-old pirate based in the Somali port of Harardhere who gave only his first name, Ismail.

"We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades," said Ismail, who did not take part in the attack on the Liberty Sun.

And it's not just the U.S. The French have become active as well. After rescuing french yahtsmen from pirates, they detained 11 pirates after intercepting their 30-foot "mother ship." The captives are held on board a French frigate.

Interestingly enough, I find the scale of the vessels interesting. The pirate "mother ship" is just 30 feet long and they attack using small boats (sometimes pontoon skiffs). They are light and fast--not so much different from the boats their 18th century predecessors used. The major nations are using destroyers and frigates, not that much different from the brigs, schooners, and frigates. Of course, now the ships are much faster. The tactics don't seem to have changed that much.