16.3.11

Guanabara: USN Somali pre-recorded messages




When the Guanabara's distress call went out, the Bulkeley was the closest available responder. It reached the Guanabara around 9 p.m. that night.
Bulkeley was able to make contact with the tanker's crew by both radio and satellite phone, and they were able to describe the situation: There were 24 of them, from a variety of nations, against four Somalis armed with automatic rifles.
As soon as the Somalis boarded the tanker, the crew members had barricaded themselves in the control room, and so far, the Somalis hadn't been able to get in.
Bulkeley stayed in contact with the tanker crew throughout the night, as the Somalis continued to try to break in. The next morning, a Turkish warship arrived, and both the Turks and the Americans sent up helicopters.
The Bulkeley also began playing loud, pre-recorded messages in Somali urging the pirates to surrender.
Finally, around 9 a.m., the Somalis laid down their weapons, gathered at the Guanabara's bow and began waving pieces of white cloth "They were very compliant," Ensign Michael Seymour, the team leader.He said the Somalis had used a makeshift ladder made from welded scrap to board the Guanabara. The Somalis' original vessel wasn't found. The Somalis remain on the deck of the Bulkeley, Seymour said, adding that they are being fed rice and beans and kept out of the weather.

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