Geordie Pirates Seize Somali Freighter

Broken Britain

Geordie Pirates Seize Somali Freighter

Third such incident in a week

Ship carrying Dive Aid from Africa to England’s NE

Article originally published in GTG May 2009

Gateshead, April 29th
The Somali Government is demanding the unconditional return of 23 crewman from the Mogadishu Star, a 10,000 ton freighter seized today by Geordie pirates.

The ship was part of a flotilla of vessels bringing aid from Africa under the Dive Aid scheme. It was supposed to be under the protection of Britain’s one remaining warship* but unfortunately that ran out of fuel.

The Geordie pirates, formerly car workers, have resorted to piracy and kidnapping as the only means of making a living as the NE region sinks into chaos.

The pirates, known as The Wall’s End Crew, started out using a rag-bag selection of locally acquired vessels, including fishing boats, jet skis, and some old World War II US Navy ‘ghost ships’. But recently they have become much more effective having bought the ex-French Navy aircraft carrier Clemenceau from a Purley Scrap Dealer ( GTG April 2009) plus some ex-Royal Navy Harrier jets off eBay. Their bold strategic move of seizing a Teesside oil refinery has provided them with fuel reserves for at least 9 months.

The Somali government has asked local authorities for help, but there is little that they can do because there is no stable government in the region.

The Eritrean Navy has promised to station one of its newly acquired nuclear submarines in the North Sea to protect future aid shipments.

*the bulk of the Royal Navy was sold on eBay last month to plug a hole in MP’s pension funds.