US warship 'opens fire in Suez' Breaking News

Well, I would think that being it was not a warship, then the container company is in a hell of a lot of trouble. A U.S. warship has the right to fire on a warned and perceived enemy once it has been communicated that it has right to pass. I do not think the same is granted to a civilian vessel.

So better for the U.S. if it had been a warship. A civilian false falge is interesting and it certainly would not be out of the realm of possibility that our enemies will now assume that it is not just our government that is aggressive.

This is not good. That ship needs to be sunk and we in America need to shut the hell up and say- We had it coming.

www.cnn.com...

CNN article is also saying that no one was shot and clarifies the situation into specific details. It is definitely odd to me about the shifting stories but the "sheep" side of me wants to say, "case closed".

Is selling merchandise even possible from rafts to a huge container ship ? What type of merchandise ?

it was a US vessel that transports supplies for the armed forces..

www.jpost.com...

www.msc.navy.mil...
MV Global Patriot, a SEALOGPAC voyage-chartered container ship, discharged 654 containers of ammunition at Concord Naval Weapons Station, Calif., in September, and loaded 58 containers and 48 pieces of break-bulk equipment for a Patriot missile defense battery destined for Okinawa.

reply to post by lonewolf37


Its pretty much well known a munitions cargo container when you just have the ship's name in articles telling how this ship transports how much munitions.
www.kadena.af.mil...

Containers of new munitions are unloaded from the Motor Vessel Global Patriot ship during the Turbo Containerized Ammunition Distribution System exercise June 22. The munitions were for all services in Okinawa. The following day many containers filled with older munitions were onloaded to be shipped back to military installations in the U.S. for storage. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Reynaldo Ramon

www.msc.navy.mil...

MV Global Patriot, a SEALOGPAC voyage-chartered container ship, discharged 654 containers of ammunition at Concord Naval Weapons Station, Calif., in September, and loaded 58 containers and 48 pieces of break-bulk equipment for a Patriot missile defense battery destined for Okinawa.

So much for supposed secrecy of this black ops ship.

Originally posted by dk3000
This is not good. That ship needs to be sunk and we in America need to shut the hell up and say- We had it coming.

Had what coming?
Nothing happened to the civilian ship so I guess nothing was coming.

I guess you don't believe in the right of people to defend themselves right?
Oh well, thats your problem.

had this been a suicide boat, and blown a hole in that cargo ship, im sure many of the same people who were saying "they just killed them because they are trigger happy blah blah blah" would have been instead saying "why didnt they shoot at the boat when it came too close?"

I don't care what languge you speak, if some one shots in front of me, I would back off, even if I had a lot of ciggs to sell.
At frist I thought it was something like a cop shooting a kid with a toy gun. Now I wonder if it wasn't a play to make the US look bad.

reply to post by lost in the midwest


Firing one shot means come closer, firing more than one means don't come closer.

I'm with most people here in thinking that the term "terrorist" is overused and that the U.S. should always be mindful our country's great law of, "A person is innocent until proven guilty."

However, it isn't hard to understand why this incident occurred. In the day and age of hired mercenaries, I'm sure that many U.S. cargo ships have at least a couple armed personnel in international waters since the USS Cole incident occurred.

I wish things like these could be avoided, but I do understand the circumstances which led to this.

reply to post by tyranny22


news.yahoo.com...

The U.S. Navy is very careful about the activities of small boats near their war ships ever since the 2000 suicide attack by a motor boat on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen killed 17 sailors. A U.S. Navy security team was aboard the cargo ship.

Small boats selling cigarettes and other products often swarm the civilian ships moving through the canal. These waterborne merchants know not to approach military vessels but the "Global Patriot" looked like a civilian vessel, said the security official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

"We are very conscious of being in heavily trafficked areas and we as professional mariners try to keep people from getting too close," Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Cmdr. Lydia Robertson told The Associated Press by phone from Bahrain. "Our team did take the appropriate steps to take those measured steps to warn the vessels that were getting too close."

Robertson, who noted that a Navy security team was on the vessel, said that the same rules of engagement applied for war ships as for those under contract.

Uh oh, these guys aren't mercenaries like you assumed.



[edit on 25-3-2008 by deltaboy]

1)Nerves may be tense as a US warship (a nuclear attack sub I believe) just passed through the canal a day or so ago.

2)As America has not ceased the global war on terror, and since this vessel was licensed (and also guarded) by the Pentagon – its a legitimate military target.

3)If Egyptians are to blame for hostilities then bomb Iran.


[edit on 25-3-2008 by scrapple]

Robertson, who noted that a Navy security team was on the vessel, said that the same rules of engagement applied for war ships as for those under contract.

May be someone can clarify. Are there different rules for military versus commercial vessels?

If so then if these ships are not identified as associated with the military, I can see where it would only lead to problems. May be the small boats would avoid military vessels but not commercial.

Also, can a ship just shoot people (raiders) before they actually board or fire shots?

reply to post by SlightlyAbovePar

It's like anything else in life, you look at a person's or government's track record. We have a reputation for bullying little countries and shooting unarmed civilians.

reply to post by roadgravel


The rules still applied for civilian ships with Navy security team protecting the military cargo as well as the crew. Its pretty much considered a legit target for anybody since its carrying military equipment so they know they need to protect it.

While on high alert, any ship whether large or small comes within 200 yards is pretty much going to be fired upon.

reply to post by LLoyd45


Didn't know America was that unique. Thought something like that happens to other countries.

reply to post by deltaboy
Yeah, we're unique alright. Dubya has put us in the category of the Most hated country in the World.

reply to post by deltaboy


Thanks

Doesn't this indicate that the ships should be marked different than a commercial vessel? May be no maritime law covers this situation?

reply to post by LLoyd45



We are the most hated country. That does not mean that America is the only country hated.

If they were sitting on a boat load of munitions, it's understandable why they'd be, um...a little edgy.

How long would it take to clear the canal if a ship of that size, basically a floating bomb,(?) were to be blown up and sunk?