Post by Shadow on Dec 2, 2005 17:44:57 GMT -5
US Security Firm Pledges to Eliminate Somali Pirates
Sierra Times
The waters off the coast of crisis-torn Somalia are believed to be the most dangerous on the high seas. Just last month, pirates firing shoulder-held, rocket-propelled grenades or RPGs and fully-automatic assault rifles attacked a US-owned cruise liner about 100 miles off the Somali coast. The ocean liner was able to escape the attack using security countermeasures. Intelligence officials are still not certain if the pirates were seeking to board the vessel or trying to destroy it while killing the passengers and crew.
In response to this latest attack, the Somali government -- a government practically in exile because of warlords, Al-Qaeda and Wahhabi terrorists -- has signed a contract with an United States-based security company that specializes in marine special operations. The hope is that the security firm will put an end to the proliferating piracy in that African region.
New York-based Topcat Marine Security signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government, which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters.
Sierra Times
The waters off the coast of crisis-torn Somalia are believed to be the most dangerous on the high seas. Just last month, pirates firing shoulder-held, rocket-propelled grenades or RPGs and fully-automatic assault rifles attacked a US-owned cruise liner about 100 miles off the Somali coast. The ocean liner was able to escape the attack using security countermeasures. Intelligence officials are still not certain if the pirates were seeking to board the vessel or trying to destroy it while killing the passengers and crew.
In response to this latest attack, the Somali government -- a government practically in exile because of warlords, Al-Qaeda and Wahhabi terrorists -- has signed a contract with an United States-based security company that specializes in marine special operations. The hope is that the security firm will put an end to the proliferating piracy in that African region.
New York-based Topcat Marine Security signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government, which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters.