On Midrats 24 July 2016 - Episode 342: Turkey, Erdoğan & its Miltary - with Ryan Evans

Please join us at 5pm EDT (US) for Midrats Episode 342: Turkey, Erdoğan & its Miltary - with Ryan Evans:

The events of the last week in Turkey brought that critically important nation in to focus, and we are going to do the same thing for this week's episode of Midrats.

Turkey has a history of military coups as a byproduct of an ongoing drive to be a modern secular nation against the current of a deeply Islamic people. This week we are going to look at how Turkey found itself at another coup attempt, the response, and the possible impact for Turkey and its relationship with NATO, Russia, Europe, and its neighbors.

Our guest to discuss this and more for the full hour will be Ryan Evans.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk- Father of Modern Turkey

Ryan Evans is a widely published commentator and recovering academic. He deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan from 2010 – 2011 as a Social Scientist on a U.S. Army Human Terrain Team that was OPCON/TACON to the British-led Task Force Helmand. He has worked as assistant director at the Center for the National Interest, a research fellow at the Center for National Policy, and for the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence in London. He is a Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society and received his MA from the King's College London War Studies Department.

Join us live if you can or listen later by clicking here. Or pick the show up later from either our iTunes page here or our Stitcher page here.

CNAS2016: ISIS Study Group - Presentation and Discussion

A truly excellent discussion of fighting ISIS from the Center for a New Anerican Security 2016 conference

Sea Crimes: ONI's Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 8 March - 6 April 2016

Ripped from the website of the ONI Piracy page:

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 8 March - 6 April 2016

And a new incident off Nigeria, as reported by the Turkish news site Hurriyet in Pirates abduct six Turkish crew off Nigeria:

Pirates have attacked a Turkish cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, kidnapping six crew members in a region increasingly hit by piracy in recent years, the Nigerian navy said on April 11.

All the six Turkish crew members, including the captain of the vessel, the chief officer and the chief engineer, were abducted by the attackers," Nigerian Navy spokesman Chris Ezekobe told AFP.

The pirates attacked the vessel in the dead of night while it was steaming through the oil-rich Niger Delta, added the spokesman.

Kidnapping is a Nigerian nightmare.

ShipSpotting.com

© Aleksi Lindström

U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 9 February - 9 March 2016

From ONI:

U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 9 February - 9 Mar 2016

For those of you interested in the smuggling of migrants, an interesting blog from a law professor at the University of Southern California, Migrants at Sea, one post of which links to this NATO news release about an expansion of it counter-migrant program in the Mediterranean/Aegean from international waters into territorial waters of NATO members Greece and Turkey:

NATO took swift decisions to deploy ships to the Aegean Sea to support our Allies Greece and Turkey, as well as the EU's border agency FRONTEX, in their efforts to tackle the migrant and refugee crisis. NATO ships are already collecting information and conducting monitoring in the Aegean Sea. Their activity will now be expanded to take place also in territorial waters.
***
the purpose of NATO's deployment is not to stop or push back migrant boats, but to help our Allies Greece and Turkey, as well as the European Union, in their efforts to tackle human trafficking and the criminal networks that are fueling this crisis.

Yes, criminals committing crimes at sea.

As the good professor at Migrants at Sea notes:

NATO’s characterisation of its operation seems to be an attempt to draw a distinction between a push-back practice where any migrant boat, regardless of whether it is in need of rescue, would be intercepted and pushed back and a search and rescue operation providing assistance to migrant boats in need of rescue. This is meaningless distinction given the current situation in the Aegean where every migrant boat is in need of assistance or rescue.

NATO video on their efforts in the Aegean:

Turkey v. Russia: Turks Defend Their Airspace

Reuters report "Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syria border, Moscow denies airspace violation". Hurryiet report:

Turkish F-16

Two Turkish F-16's shot down a Russian-made SU-24 jet on Nov. 24 near the Syrian border after it violated Turkish airspace, presidential sources said.

Turkey shot down the jet after it failed to heed the warnings within the rules of engagement.

Initial reports said the jet belonged to Russia, but presidential sources later clarified that the jet's nationality was unknown.

SU-24

The Turkish Armed Force also stated that the jet of “unknown nationality” had been warned 10 times in five minutes about its violation of the airspace.

Hmmm.

Gulf of Guinea Piracy: US and Turkey Plan Action to Assist in Beating "The World's Most Violent Pirates"

Report from Nigeria's Business Day, "US moves to curb oil theft, piracy in Gulf of Guinea"

As part of its determination to help Nigeria curb the incidence of pirate attacks and sea robbery on Nigerian bound ships, the government of United States of America, is concluding arrangements to actively assist Nigeria and her West African neighbours in line with its bi-national commission agreement with Nigerian government.

Consequent upon this, the US government has also perfected plans to hand over another warship to Nigerian Navy so as to complement the joint efforts of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Navy in the fight against illegalities in the nation’s territorial waterways.

Presenting a welcome address to the visiting Senate and House Committee members on Marine Transport in the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC at the weekend, Ade Adefuye, who disclosed that Nigeria is receiving a lot of corporation from America to boost regional and internal security challenges that are confronting the nation’s economy, said that Nigeria would before the end of May, take delivery of another warship from America to complement the NNS thunder that was given to Nigerian Navy in the past.
***
In addition to this, Gyang Pwajok, a member of the delegates, who expressed worries over the rising incidences of illegal oil bunkering as well as oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea, also solicited for the support of American Government in putting an end to the illegal act that has been eating deep into the nation’s economy.

“Nigeria needs international collaboration from countries to put an end to the

2014 GoG Piracy from IMB Live Piracy Map

existing markets for stolen oils. This is because if there is no market for stolen oil, the perpetrators of the ugly acts would have no choice other than to put an end to it. And in doing this, it would create an avenue for Nigerians to effectively enjoy the nation’s natural resources,” the senator added.

From Nigeria's Daily Independent "Turkish Navy Vows to Tackle Piracy on Nigerian Waters":

The Turkish Maritime Task Group has expressed desire to work with the Nigerian Navy personnel to tackle the criminal and unpatriotic activities and operations of pirates in Nigeria.
***
The Turkish Naval commander further disclosed that the objectives of the visit were to support the on-going efforts of these African countries in tackling piracy, contribute to the safety of sea lines of communication, conduct presence operations in oceans around the African continent.

Also, the visit will afford the Turkish Naval personnel the opportunity to contribute ideas and suggestions that could help in tackling piracy, maritime insecurity and other forms of criminalities in Nigeria’s maritime sector.

The Turkish Navy is also to exhibit Turkish national defence products and carry out humanitarian activities around Apapa in Lagos during the period of the visit.

Recently there has been an upsurge in reports of the violent tendency of Gulf of Guinea pirates and sea robbers. Let's look at this by going back ten years to this 2004 article: Piracy report says Nigerian waters the most deadly:

Nigerian waters were the most deadly in the world during the first half of 2004 according to a new piracy report. Analysts blame the proliferation of weapons in the oil-rich Niger Delta region where armed gangs trade stolen crude.

The Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Monday that half of the 30 deaths recorded in pirate attacks around the world between 1 January and 30 June occurred in Nigerian territorial waters.

In terms of the number of attacks, Nigeria ranked third with 13 attacks, behind Indonesia (50) and the Malacca Straits (20).

"Both the increased number of attacks in this area and the degree of violence being used is of grave concern and we will be putting pressure on the Nigerians to step up anti-piracy measures," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said in a statement.

Industry watchers, like Gbenga Olumide of oil research firm Rigs Concerns, say Nigeria's growing prominence for piracy can be traced back to oil, the country's economic lifeblood and the large-scale theft of crude oil which is sold to vessels offshore.

"The trade has in turn funded further arms procurement and been behind the spawning of a wide range of criminal activities, including sea piracy," Olumide told IRIN on Tuesday.

Now, to this 2014 report from James Bridger at USNI News, The World’s Most Violent Pirates:

West Africa is home to the world’s most violent pirates—who are now capable of overwhelming armed guards. Last month pirates killed a crewmember during an attack on German-owned oil tanker. Instead of fighting off the pirates, the embarked security team retreated to the ship’s citadel safe room.

For the shipping and insurance worlds, the widespread adoption of armed guards aboard vessels essentially “solved” Somali piracy, as no vessel employing them has been hijacked by pirates. An attempt to transfer this panacea to the pirate-prone waters of West Africa, however, has proved inadequate and ill-suited to local conditions.

On the night of April 29 pirates attacked SP Brussels about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria. Local security forces guarding the vessel were unable to prevent the pirates from boarding and retreated to ship’s citadel along with the crew. The guards did not emerge until the following morning, only to find that the ship’s chief engineer had been killed and another crewmember injured; they failed to reach the citadel.

That incident and others like it highlight three important issues that distinguish West African maritime crime from that in other parts of the world.

First are the distinctive operating environment, in which international naval patrols are absent; the limited response capacity of regional security forces; and the prohibition on the use of foreign armed guards.

Second is the uniquely violent nature of Nigerian pirates and their propensity to engage in shootouts with security forces.

Finally, there are the multiple shortcomings of using local armed guards aboard vessels and the inherent danger the shipping industry faces in being overly reliant on that measure.

Well, as the last article points out, to beat the pirates you need:

1.  To have adequate arms and well trained honest men sufficient to fight back;
2.  A legal and political environment that allows strong counter-pirate action;
3.  A non-corrupt counter-piracy local team in the government.

Sadly, Nigeria, and the GoG region in general, seem to lack these elements.

Further, as Gyang Pwajok stated above, you need to close out the market for stolen oil.

Without major changes, I expect that in another 10 years this blog post will be repeated.

By the way, Nigeria provides about 5% of US oil imports, Europe took 44% of Nigeria's oil exports, and is Turkey's fifth largest trade partner in Africa including natural gas and petroleum products. The impact on the people of Nigeria, according to the U.S. EIA:

Nigeria's oil and natural gas resources are the mainstay of the country's economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that oil and natural gas export revenue accounted for 96% of total export revenue in 2012. For 2013, Nigeria's budget is framed on a reference oil price of $79 per barrel, providing a wide safety margin in case of price volatility. Savings generated when oil revenues exceed budgeted revenues are placed into the Excess Crude Account (ECA), which can then be drawn down in years when oil revenues are below budget, according to the IMF.

According to this site, Nigeria ranks as the 33rd most corrupt country in the world (144/177 with #1 being least corrupt Denmark).

The other 32 must be real gems.

Middle East Mess: Turkey Claims Russian Arms on Moscow to Damascus "Airliner" Forced to Land in Turkey

The Republic of Turkey, which has, for the most part, tried to stay clear of the Syrian disaster unfolding on its border, now has pushed further into the mess by following up on some intelligence and forcing an aircraft headed from Moscow to Damascus to land in Ankara and undergo a search. This investigation reportedly resulted in a veritable hit, as reported by the NY Times in "Turkish Leader Says Russian Munitions Found on Syrian Jetliner":

The Turks, saying they had acted on an intelligence tip, forced the Air Syria flight with 35 passengers aboard to land at an airport in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Wednesday.

“From Russia, an institution equivalent to our Machinery and Chemical Industry has sent military tools, equipment and ammunition to the Syrian Defense Ministry,” Mr. Erdogan was quoted as saying about the plane inspection. He was drawing a comparison to Turkey’s Machinery and Chemical Industry Institution, or MKEK, a leading provider of defense equipment to the Turkish military.

“Upon the intelligence received, research there was conducted and it was unfortunately seen that there was such equipment inside,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Since the Turks have been exchanging intermittent artillery fire with Syrian forces, they might just be a little put out by anyone supplying more ammunition to the Syrian regime.

The Turkish Hurryiet Daily News has more, with a Turkish Foreign Ministry official sounding a little like Captain Renault from the movie Casablanca (bolded below and I mean that movie reference in a good way):

A civilian Syrian passenger airplane flying from Moscow to Damascus was forced to land at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport late on Oct. 10, and some of the cargo aboard was seized due to intelligence that it included material in violation of international civil aviation rules. Turkey allowed the aircraft to take off and continue on its route after seizing its cargo and grounding it for nine hours.

Turkish F-16

Ankara issued a diplomatic note to the Syrian Consulate in Istanbul yesterday. “The plane’s cargo was inconsistent with its bills of lading, and the cargo may have had a military purpose. The receiver [of the cargo] was listed as the Syrian Defense Ministry,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. The cargo has been seized, not confiscated as yet, but probably will be confiscated, he said. “We are not prepared to comment on the description of the cargo. We will discuss it after we finish examining it,” he said.

“We are determined not to allow arms supply via Turkish airspace to a regime that is resorting to cruelty against its own people. Trying to do so by using our airspace is unacceptable,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said, a few hours after the plane landed, escorted by two Turkish F-16 jets. Turkish planes do not use Syrian airspace any longer because Syrian air space is not secure for Turkish planes, he said.

UPDATE: Syria call the Turks liars, according to the BBC:

Syria has accused Turkey of lying over its claim that a Syria-bound plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying Russian-made defence equipment.

Syria's foreign ministry challenged Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who made the claim, to show publicly the "ammunition" that had been seized.

Now, that's an interesting "good neighbor" approach taken by the Syrians. ... and the Russians who have joined in the name calling.

Syria: Turkey Get Fired On, Shoots Back and NATO Gets a Call

WaPo reports, "Turkey PM’s office says Turkish artillery fired on Syria after shelling of Turkish town" :

Turkish artillery fired on Syrian targets after deadly shelling from Syria hit a Turkish border town on Wednesday, sharply raising tensions on a volatile border that has been crossed by tens of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing violence in their country.

More from Hurriyet:

Targets in Syria has been bombed in return to a deadly attack which killed 5 people in southeeastern Turkey, Turkish Prime Ministry has said.

"These provacations against the safety of Turkey will not remain unanswered," the Prime Ministry said. "We have responded to the attack, and bombed targets in Syria."
***
An emergency NATO meeting had been summoned, and will take place in the upcoming hours.

The Prime Minister said Turkey's response abided with the international law, and came as self-defense.

NATO. Hmmmm. This could get nasty.

UPDATE: The Turkish parliament has authorized cross border operations for its military, as set out here:

The Turkish Parliament has passed a motion allowing the military to conduct cross-border raids into Syria.

Some 320 deputies cast votes in favor of the motion, while 129 voted against it.
***
“All military targets have been hit by the shells. After this point, the process is down to the reaction of the opposite side [Syria]. They have now taken the lessons that they should have taken,” AKP Ankara Deputy Yalçın Akdoğan said.

Regarding opposition criticism of the mandate text, Akdoğan said: “There is nothing saying we have to go to a war in the text. The criticism of the opposition is political. Everything is clear in the text."

AKP Deputy Group Chairman Nurettin Canikli said there was an armed attack toward Turkey undetaken by the Syrian goverment. “Everybody needs to define their side. Are you on Turkey’s side or on the side of cruel al-Assad? Are you on the side of al-Assad, who has been shelling his own people including children? You need to make a decision on this.

Nobody in the Turkish Grand Assembly can defend the policy of a country who attacked this country [Turkey]. Our duty is to defend our country,” Canikli said.

UPDATE2: A WSJ report with a discussion of the NATO duty to come to the aid of an attacked NATO member, which Turkey is:

Oh,yes, and the Syrian chemical weapons threat.

Somali Pirates: Counter-Piracy Action!

First, from the NYTimes, European Forces Strike Pirate Base in Somalia:

European Union forces on Tuesday attacked a Somali pirate base for the first time, using a combat helicopter to strafe several of the signature fiberglass skiffs that the pirates use to hijack ships.
***
Lt. Cmdr. Jacqueline Sherriff, a spokeswoman for the European Unions anti-piracy force, said that the European forces destroyed at least five skiffs that were still on land with small arms fire and that the attack lasted a couple of minutes. This is a fantastic opportunity,’’ she said. “What we want to do is make life more difficult for these guys.’’

No "boots on the ground" - but a necessary move to slow down the pirates. Now, pirate whining as reported by the AP at Somali pirate: EU airstrike destroyed equipment:

A burning pirate skiff from a previous counter-piracy event

A Somali pirate says an airstrike by the European Union naval force patrolling the Indian Ocean has destroyed speed boats, fuel deports and an arms store.

Bile Hussein, a pirate commander, said Tuesday the attack on Handulle village in the Mudug region will cause a setback to pirate operations. The village lies about 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Haradheere town, a key pirate lair. There were no reports of deaths in the attack, Hussein said.

Oh, no! Not a "setback!"

Meanwhile, out at sea, Turkish forces took on an apparent pirate "mother ship" - as reported here:

Turkish commandos have arrested 14 pirates thought to be from Somalia off the coast of Oman and freed seven Yemeni sailors they were holding hostage, the army said on May 13. A helicopter of the frigate Giresun, which operates with NATO forces in the region, spotted the boat on May 11 around 190 nautical miles from the Omani coast, the army said in a statement on its website. Commandos stormed the boat and seized nine assault weapons, a rocket launcher and other materials, said the statement, which was accompanied by photographs showing the suspects with their arms in the air as the raid began.

More from Saturn5 over at his blog, Bosphorus Naval News (more photos at his site and here):

The S-70B Seahawk helicopter attached to TCG Giresun spotted the dhow at 14:50, 190 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen. The dhow acting as a mother ship was stopped by the helicopter and TCG Giresunarrived at the dhow and the naval special forces team boarded the dhow at 17:00. 14 Somali pirates were arrested and 7 Yemeni fisherman, the original crew of the dhow were freed by naval commandos.

Taking the fight to the pirates!

Well done to all involved!

Turkey: Ferry Hijacked, Hijacker Killed By Commandos

VOA reports Turkish Forces Kill Ferry Hijacker :

Authorities say Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked ferry Saturday and killed the lone hijacker.

Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters Saturday that the crew and passengers were all safe, and the identity of the hijacker is still being determined. Earlier reports said up to five suspected Kurdish militants armed with explosives carried out the hijacking.

The ferry Kartepe was carrying 18 passengers, including five women, along with four crew members and two trainees. It ran out of fuel Friday after sailing from Izmit and dropping anchor in the Sea of Marmara, where it was reported commandos boarded the vessel.

Turkish media reported that the ferry was traveling between Izmit and the town of Golcuk in Kocaeli province Friday evening when the vessel was seized by militants.

Catching Up

Having had a couple of days off, it's time to play "catch up"- let's start with an annoying BBC article BBC News - Somali pirates face hard time in US prison, in which the sympathy is entirely misplaced. Further, the article originally had a completely different title, which Lex captured as "Somali pirates face hell in US prison system." When I first saw the original headline, I wondered if the "hell" they will experience in U.S. prisons is even a vague shadow of the "hell" of a Somali prison or even daily Somali life for that matter. But the article is even more biased than its headline:

Federal prison is a frightening, perilous environment of intrigue, violent gangs, terrible food and severe isolation, even for the most hardened criminal.

For men from a faraway land with little or no English-language skills and no prior familiarity with American culture, it will be especially hard, say lawyers for the men, and experts in psychology and the criminal justice system.
***
On Monday, Muhidin Salad Omar and Mahdi Jama Mohamed were sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to their part in the hijacking in February of the yacht S/V Quest, in which pirates shot to death four American yachters as the US Navy sought their release.

On Tuesday, four more men are to be sentenced to automatic life terms in prison following their guilty pleas to piracy counts in the Quest case. More are to be sentenced in the autumn.
***
Language and cultural barriers will make it difficult for the men to form the support groups and informal social networks that lawyers and social workers say are necessary to get by in prison.

"They have all the stressors associated with prison," says Frederic Reamer, a professor of social work at Rhode Island College with extensive experience working in prisons and a member of the Rhode Island state parole board.

"But unlike most inmates, they cannot just go into the dining hall and sit at a table and start conversing with people with whom they have some shared cultural experience. They are likely to be isolated in every imaginable way."

God spare from bleeding heart professors of social work. I figure under some Somali law, we could have simply stoned these guys to death, as it seems to be a favored punishment. Read the part again about how these pirates "shot to death four American yachters."

Isn't it interesting that as the assertions of the world "running out of fossil fuels" continue to be heard that we keep finding more? Here's a report of a possible discovery off Sri Lanka -

While further drilling is required to determine the commerciality of the natural gas discovery, this is the first oil and gas well to be drilled in Sri Lanka in 30 years -- and the first hydrocarbon discovery ever in the country.

Which reminds me that the gas field off Cyprus continues to be a blip in international relations. The Turkish government has deployed a ship to "investigate" the waters off Northern Cyprus, as set out here. Saturn5 from Bosphorus Naval News has a series of posts on the topic, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. It's all about the gas and oodles of money. The Russians, the French and others are out there playing hard.

The Eastern Mediterranean: Much Ado About Gas

So, Turkey has been shaking the war stick at Israel, making big noise over the Israeli blockade of Gaza that last year resulted in the stopping of Turkish ship and the violence that followed. In addition, Turkey is most unhappy with the discovery of large amounts of natural gas beneath the waters off Israel and Cyprus.

First, about the discovery:

The above map from Nobel Energy sets forth some discoveries made by that company, as described below:

Noble Energy has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea, offshore Israel, since 1998. We have a 47 percent interest in the Mari-B field, the first offshore natural gas production facility in Israel. Production from Mari-B began in 2004 and sales volumes have increased as Israel’s power demand and pipeline infrastructure have expanded tremendously. Significant new exploration discoveries at Tamar, Dalit, and Leviathan will help meet Israel's energy needs and drive new potential for natural gas in the future.

The Company has recently completed two additional development wells at Mari-B. Combined with additional compression work in 2011, these new wells will support near-term gas deliverability and serve as injection wells for storage in the future.

We have a 36 percent operated working interest at Tamar, with gross mean resources of 8.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. Tamar was the largest deepwater natural gas discovery in the world in 2009. Sanctioned by the Company in September 2010, initial expectations target commissioning first gas from Tamar at the end of 2012. Development drilling at Tamar is underway, and the Company is continuing discussion with a growing number of parties to deliver reliable and clean energy resources to customers.

Leviathan represents the largest exploration success in the Company's history, with gross mean resources of 16 Tcf of natural gas. We are actively studying multiple export options, including both LNG and pipeline scenarios. The Company anticipates returning to appraisal drilling at Leviathan in mid 2011. Supported by 3D seismic acquisitions in 2009 and 2010, Noble Energy has identified a number of additional prospects and leads on our significant acreage position offshore Israel and Cyprus, with plans to drill three to four exploration / appraisal wells in 2011.

This discovery has major implications for Israel and Cyprus. With specific reference to Cyprus, this piece notes:

For Cypriots who always had an Arab-envy, seeing their neighbors drawn in oil while they have to import every drop of it, has been frustrating if not intoxicating. Loren Steffy, the business columnist for the Houston Chronicle, reports: “Just as the Israeli discoveries may transform that country from an energy importer to an exporter, a similar find off the coast of Cyprus could turn the island nation into a major European energy hub”.
Terry Gerhart, the Vice President for international operations of Houston-based Noble Energy declares: “Cyprus could be on the verge of a natural gas revolution. Gas will strengthen the Cypriot economy for decades to come. Cyprus will become the Mediterranean’s energy hub”.

Well, maybe - both Cyprus and Israel are going to have some serious challenges - as noted her:

From Israel, there is good news and bad news.

Somali Pirates: Turks Capture Pirates, Free Dhow Crew

Good report from Saturn5 at Bosphorus Naval News:

The dhow turned out to be a Yemeni vessel, captured by the Somali pirates on 11 April 2011 to be used as a mother ship. The seven Yemeni fishermen on board were freed by the Turkish sailors.

Somali Pirates: Korean Ship and Crew "Found Safe"

Earlier reports of the reported attack and following silence of the Korean ship Hanjin Tainjin let us wonder what happened (see here).

Now, a report the the crew has been found safe by the Korean Navy destroyer Choi Young, at All 20 Crew Aboard Hanjin Tianjin Found Safe:

All 14 Koreans and six Indonesians on board the container vessel Hanjin Tianjin that lost contact with its operator, Hanjin Shipping, early Thursday are confirmed safe.

ROKS Choi Young (DDH-981)

The Choi Young naval destroyer from Korea's Cheonghae unit, which is part of the international campaign to wipe out piracy in the area, arrived at the site at around 5 p.m., Korea time, near the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden about 400 kilometers east of Yemen's Socotra Island.
Seoul's foreign ministry says the Korean troops found all 20 crew members inside the freighter's emergency shelter at around 6:40 p.m., after the unit's Lynx helicopter conducted a thorough inspection around the troubled vessel.
The 75-thousand ton ship en route to Singapore from Spain, had remained afloat after it came under some sort of an attack by pirates.
However, there have been no reported sightings of the pirates and the search operation inside the ship's cargo is to continue for some time to figure out what exactly happened when it sent out a security alarm call just before communication was cut off at 5:15 a.m.
Officials add that the international combined fleet's Turkish warship that reached the Panama-registered freighter some three hours after the alarm went off, had already informed Seoul there were no signs of the attackers.
And the 20 people were out of reach since the shelter was only equipped with a marine VHF radio.
Lauding the successful rescue of the Hanjin Tiajin and its crew, officials here in Seoul highlighted the government and shipping companies' joint efforts to maximize the crew's safety from piracy by mock training and maintaining traveling regulations.

Reports are that unnamed Turkish navy ship was about 80 miles away at the time of the attack here:

The commandos searched the vessel with 14 South Koreans and six Indonesians aboard and found no pirates aboard, officials said.

The Panamanian-registered ship owned by South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. lost contact at around 5:15 a.m. Thursday when it was in waters some 460 miles east of the Somali coast. It was sailing from Spain to Singapore.

The crew members were found in the zone at around 7:30 p.m. and are currently in good health, officials said.

The commandos also discovered three live bullets of AK rifles presumed to be owned by Somali pirates and multiple footprints of bare feet, all of which indicate that pirates attempted to hijack the vessel, officials said.

A Turkish warship, just 80 miles away from the container ship at the time of the attack, first arrived at the scene to help South Korea’s rescue operation. It provided necessary information to the Cheonghae Unit before the 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young of the unit arrived at the scene at 4:40 p.m., officials said.

Bosphorus Naval News: Evacuation of Turkish Citizens from Libya by Turkey

TCG Iskenderun escorted by TCG Yavuz photo from Bosphorus Naval News

Saturn5 has extensive coverage of how the Turkish government has taken steps to get its people out Libya in a series of post which are found (and linked to) at The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya:

With today's evacuations the number of people evacuated by see increased to 8351. Turkey evacuated approximately 20444 people since the beginning of the crisis.

Turkey has maintained quite a presence off Libya and used a combination of ferries and warships to perform the evacuations and provide security.

Saturn5 has coverage of a Turkish ship stopping a Somali pirate attack, too, here. Turkey's use of its sea power is growing and effective.

Somali Pirates Capture Small Tanker Off Kenya

Pirates seize LPG tanker off Kenya:

On the morning of 24 October, the MV YORK, a Singapore-flagged tanker, was confirmed pirated in the Somali Basin.

The MV YORK had recently left Mombasa on route to the Seychelles. The vessel was attacked on 23 October by two skiffs, approximately 50 nautical miles East from Mombasa.

The Turkish warship GAZIANTEP, operating under the Combined Maritime Forces (Task Force 151) launched her helicopter to investigate. The helicopter was able to observe pirates with weapons on board the vessel.

Initially the MV YORK was drifting but then began moving at 10 knots this morning. In a separate but seemingly linked incident the fishing vessel GOLDEN WAVE, pirated on 9 October 2010, was seen in the vicinity of the MV YORK.

The MV YORK, deadweight 5,076 tons, has a crew of 17, of which one is German (Master), two are Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos.

Including the MV YORK, Somali pirates are currently holding 19 vessels with 428 hostages.

"A Turkish Concept Against Piracy"

At good friend Saturn 5's blog Bosphorus Naval News: Kangal - A Turkish Concept Against Piracy:

There has been a lot of discus[sion] [about] how to combat piracy effectively. And there is a tendency to use small and fast boats that can carry a light armament outside (enough to deter pirates or provide self defense) and a VBSS them inside. The Dutch Navy used their LPD, HNLMS Johan de Witt as mothership and conducted patrols with their LCVPs and LCU's based in the amphibious ship. This tactic was not without some success.

Thus Yonca Onuk shipyard in cooperation with Aselsan has developed a concept called Kangal. Kangal is an indigenous shepherd dog race.

In the heart of this concept lies the MRTP 22 fast intervention boat. MRTP 22 is a derivat[ive] of the SAT Infiltration Boat build by the shipyard for Turkish naval special forces. The MRTP was designed special for littoral operations and offers high standards of habitability, usability and maintenance.

Well worth reading it all and then watching this video on the concept:

That van full of electronics? Looks very similar to the old U.S. Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit TSQ-108A vans, which we, on occasion, mounted on ships . . . and other platforms.

Whither Turkey?

CDR Salamander invited Saturn 5, a Turkish naval blogger to post some thoughts on a A New Turkey? and on Saturn 5's home blog here:

As Turkey is changing, the old Turkey we used to know and understand is fading away. We (secular Turks, Islamic Turks and rest of the world including Sal) must find a way to deal with this change. We must also accept the realities of the new emerging Turkey.

As a youth, I lived for a couple of years in Ankara and will always remember the simple kindness shown to me by the people of Turkey. I certainly wish them the best as they attempt to meet the challenges of the world to come.

Choosing the right path will lead to a greater nation filled with hard-working honest people.

The trick, as Ataturk knew, is maintaining "an open heart full of pure feelings and friendship."

Somali Pirates: Turkish Freighter Taken

Reported here by MSC(HOA):

Pirates hijack Turkish Bulk Carrier off the Somali coast

07/04/2010 17.28 UTC

The Turkish flagged Bulk Carrier YASIN C was hijacked earlier today approximately 250 Nautical Miles east of Mombasa.

The YASIN C, with deadweight of 36 318 tonnes, left the IRTC almost one week ago and was heading to Mombasa. The Turkish owned and operated YASIN C has a crew of 25 and all are believed to be Turkish. It is understood that first reports of the attack on the ship came from the NATO Turkish warship GELIBOLU that received distress calls from the YASIN C. EU NAVFOR, who works closely with NATO and CMF, continues to monitor the situation.

Photo from Shipspotting.com by Vladimir Knyaz and used in accord with the terms of that site.

Somali Pirates: Turkish Frigate Captures 9 Pirates in Gulf of Aden

Saturn 5 has the story and more photos at Bosphorus Naval News: TCG Gelibolu Captures 9 Pirates

As noted in the post, the Turks now have bagged 53 pirates.