NCCnovel Chapter 108 Somali Pirates (Part )
Chapter 108 Somali Pirates (Part )
Somali pirates are a group of pirates active in the waters of Somalia. They are well-known for hijacking ships, kidnapping crew members and extorting ransom. These pirates usually ride on high-speed speedboats, carry advanced weapons and communication equipment, and attack passing merchant ships and tankers. Their actions not only pose a serious threat to international shipping, but also cause great damage to the economic and social development of Somalia. In order to combat Somali pirates, the international community has taken a variety of measures, including strengthening naval patrols, providing assistance and training, but the piracy problem still exists.
As the only passage through the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden is very busy all year round, with cargo ships from all over the world. It is precisely because of this that this precious land has also been targeted by the notorious Somali pirates.
Since the civil war in Somalia in the 90s, the number of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden has been increasing. By 2007, there had been nearly a thousand Somali pirate attacks. Because of the rampant and rampant activities of Somali pirates, they were named Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2009, which was really a "magical" event.
In order to prevent pirates from robbing along the way, many countries have sent warships to the Gulf of Aden to escort cargo ships.
A huge oil tanker flying the flag of the Dragon Country is slowly sailing into the waters of the Gulf of Aden. Not only is there no warship escort, but the tanker is also very "leisurely and contented", as if it does not care at all that it is sailing in this "dangerous" waters. It also does not seem to realize that it has been targeted by Somali pirates and has become a "hot commodity" in their eyes.
The tanker was named "Jixianglong". The pirates followed it all the way. After they were completely sure that the other side had no warships to protect it, the pirates instantly perked up, increased their speed, and caught up with what they thought was their "meal" in one go.
Unexpectedly, the pirates who had been invincible in the Gulf of Aden hit a wall this time. Not only did they fail to plunder the wealth they imagined, but they also proved the proverb "people die for money, birds die for food" and became a laughing stock in the international community.
The real owner of the "Jixianglong" is Wei Jixiang of Jixiang Island. He also invested in the shipping business of the charter king. The Jixianglong is exactly the oil tanker under Wei Jixiang.
Longguo Petrochemical Group placed a large order of up to 9 tons of crude oil with the Bear Country. The ship that undertook this transportation mission was the Jixianglong, which was owned by the Charter King Group.
In order to deliver this batch of crude oil to Longguo as soon as possible, the Jixianglong traveled day and night and quickly headed for the Longguo port.
Under the influence of Somali pirates, such large-tonnage cargo ships usually choose to ask their own army to protect themselves. However, this batch of crude oil from Long Petrochemical is sailing from the Red Sea. If it wants to wait for the Longguo warship to escort it, it will take a long time. As long as the ship cannot sail earlier, it must pay more management fees to the port.
In order to save time and money, the "Jixianglong" gave up waiting for the escort warships of Longguo and chose to set off directly.
They are truly the descendants of the dragon. With Wei Jixiang's Jixiang Island backing them up, who wouldn't marvel at their courage?
You know, this cargo ship full of crude oil has only 23 crew members. These 23 people are responsible for different tasks, and there is no extra person to take charge of the security work on the ship. Dare to carry so much cargo, pass through the Gulf of Aden without warship escort and security forces, and do so when pirates are most active. I am afraid that only Wei Jixiang's men can do it.
The departure of the "Jixianglong" did not go unnoticed by the pirates. But the pirates were smart, and seeing the "Jixianglong" setting off without a warship escort, the pirates did not rush to act. On the one hand, they were afraid of fraud, and on the other hand, they were afraid that the freighter had strong security measures, so at first, the pirates just followed carefully all the way, wanting to find out the situation on the ship first.
Just as the "Jixianglong" was about to leave the Gulf of Aden, all the crew members on board thought they were lucky and had not been targeted by pirates, but the pirates finally found out the situation on the ship.
When they found out that there was no security on board, the pirates rushed forward and prepared to hijack the tanker... But who knew what would happen next, which made the pirates regret it deeply.
Just when the "Jixianglong" was about to leave the Somali pirates' activity area, it was suddenly discovered that two speedboats were approaching the "Jixianglong". As a captain who has lived on the sea for many years, even if he has never eaten pork, he has seen pigs run away. Captain Wang Feng quickly reacted and realized that the pirates were going to attack them.
At the critical moment, the captain was very calm. He first ordered the crew to speed up the tanker. On the one hand, this could increase the distance between the tanker and the pirates. If they were lucky enough to enter the Arabian Sea, they could get rid of the pirates. On the other hand, when the ship accelerated, it would generate a lot of waves, which could effectively block the pirates' speedboats and delay the pirates' boarding time.
Then, the captain sent a distress signal to Jixiang Island. At the same time, the pirates successfully caught up with the ship. After discovering the captain's intention, the pirates became even more angry. They not only fired at the ship with their guns, but also directly destroyed the mast of the tanker with rocket launchers.
Just as Captain Wang Feng was about to continue calling for help, the pirates had already used rocket launchers to destroy the ship's radar and communication satellite phone, directly cutting off the tanker's communication with the outside world.
But Wei Jixiang's men were not so easy to mess with. Seeing that the pirates were becoming more and more arrogant, the captain directly ordered to shut down all equipment and power systems and let the tanker wait for rescue.
Then, Captain Wang Feng and the first mate rushed towards the pirates with high-pressure water guns, and two pirates were directly washed into the sea. Seeing this, the other crew members also picked up the iron barrels and wooden boxes at hand and threw them at the pirates approaching the hull. The pirates were also confused for a moment, but then they became angry. These guys have been rampant in the Gulf of Aden for many years, and they rarely encounter such a situation, which also aroused their anger.
The pirates fired crazily with automatic rifles. Under the fire suppression of the pirates, the captain did not choose to fight head-on, but directly summoned all the crew members to enter the safe cabin and locked the door. The safe cabin where they hid from the pirates was specially designed. The door could only be opened from the inside. There was also a large amount of food and drinking water stored inside. The crew could hide in it for several days. The pirates' idea of hijacking the crew was directly thwarted.