How chaotic is
Somalia?
I am an old captain, and I have met a Somali pirate once.
Unlike other pirates who rob scrap metal, Somali pirates are truly organized, disciplined and deadly terrorists.
Even if we hired the best maritime security team, all of them were destroyed. Why don’t
I stay in the country and go to a dangerous place?
Because I am an ocean-going cargo captain, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where Somali pirates are located, is an unavoidable sea area. I have been working as
a sailor for 35 years. I have to prove my identity and take the certificate “Zhenlou” first.
Seafarer is a boring and dangerous job. He is also different from an Explorer. When an Explorer encounters danger, he can choose to retreat, but not to go to sea. Even if you know you are facing danger, you have to face it.
I once sailed a ship from the Persian Gulf to Europe.
This time, the ship has arranged two captains, the shipping circle has never seen such a situation, why?
Because this route passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Since the opening of the Suez Canal at the northernmost end of the Red Sea, ships from the Indian Ocean to the North Atlantic have chosen to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait instead of going around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
But the terrain here is long and narrow and the water is turbulent, and the ships passing through here can only sail at a speed of less than 18 knots. The reefs in
the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are high and dense, and pirates can easily climb aboard with a little ambush. You may not have heard of
the Mandeb Strait pirates, but you must have heard of their nickname, the Somali pirates.
And on this trip, we are transporting the pirates’ favorite crude oil, which is sold quickly and at a high price. Once sold, it can lie down for three years.
Since the 1991 civil war in Somalia, almost all of the nearly 10 million people in Somalia have become refugees, 50% of whom are destitute.
Being poor is the most terrible thing in the world.
In order to survive, they carry professional weapons, see the passing ships to rob, as small as fishing boats, as large as oil tankers, no one is not killed by them. In
2008, the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, was attacked by Somali pirates.
At the time, Sirius’s losses were estimated at more than US $100 million. Photos of the crew of the Sirius Star in
Saudi Arabia being hijacked and airdropped for ransom are also from 2008, when a Spanish merchant ship was hijacked by Somali pirates, and the Spanish government paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom for more than 20 crew members on board.
Later, countries simply sent their own warships to escort, so that the situation is slightly better, but pirates are still not to be underestimated. A
few years ago, a captain said that when they crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they had encountered 80 pirate boats together at most. If they had not followed the escort warships of the motherland at that time, they would have come back dead.
On this voyage, Qian and I were captains at the same time.
Old Qian is two years older than me. Both of them entered the company at the same time. They both worked under the old leader, Old Jiang Tou.
The company said I had rich experience and asked me to cooperate with Lao Qian. The
company’s idea is too obvious. Newcomers may be confused by the company’s statement. I’ve been working here for 35 years. It’s impossible not to understand when two captains are needed on the ship. All
I have is sailing experience, and I have no experience in fighting pirates. What a joke! The company hopes that if the captain’s life is in danger this time, I can stand up.
The company is also quite scheming, old money as a captain, I do not even have a reason to refuse.
the Spring Festival vacation passed quickly, and I followed the old money’s boat and embarked on a new journey.
Old money is a native of Huizhou. In his early years, his family sent him to be a soldier. After he retired from the army, he became a sailor in the company.
He has a square face, a fleshy nose, and thick eyebrows that can be seen from several miles away. At 1.74 meters tall, he does not feel burly at first glance, but if you have seen him roll up his sleeves on the deck, you will find that the muscles of his arms are solid and strong.
Old Qian was a marine in the army. In his own words, he said, “I picked up a gun and aimed it at you, saying that my left eye was not on the left eyebrow.”. As soon as the
two old guys met, they had a lot to say. After the ship Huihai set sail, we had tea in the captain’s cabin every day.
On this side, Lao Qian laughed at me for not catching up with the little girl who liked clerks in those years. On the other side, I followed him to expose Lao Qian’s scar, saying that he could throw himself down several times when he washed the deck. The happy mood of the
two old brothers also infected the crew of the ship. They were so happy that when they rested, they left their hard disks and books and went to the captain’s cabin to do chores for the two old captains.
But this happy atmosphere was quickly replaced by the nervousness of the whole crew when the ship officially entered the Arabian Sea.
Everyone knows that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is not far from the Arabian Sea. The vicious
Somali pirates are getting closer and closer.
One day, when the tanker reached a certain latitude, the first mate reported to Old Qian, “Chief Qian, this seems to be the place.”.
Old Qian motioned to the first mate to slow down the ship in a wide sea. The
sea was calm at this time, and there were a few clouds far away on the horizon. The strong diffuse reflection of the
noon sunshine makes people unable to open their eyes.
Old Qian and I were holding binoculars, and soon we saw a small white spot moving fast in our sight.
The little white spot, from far to near, could be seen in a short time. On top of the rapidly rising white waves, it was a speedboat moving forward at a high speed. Those who
drive and ride speedboats are men in uniform and with professional equipment. In front of
the speedboat sat a man who looked like a captain. Seeing our boat from a distance, he stood up and waved his arms.
This is the security team that the company arranged for us on this voyage: Sea Shark.
Sea Shark is a maritime security team made up of a variety of veterans with actual combat experience, who have been operating well in the shipping industry for many years. The
members are not only brave and skillful in fighting, but also equipped with lethal weapons. Ships
have successfully escaped the pursuit of pirates under their protection, which is quite famous in the industry. The strength of this
maritime security team is like a well-trained mercenary.
But also because of the reason of equipped with weapons, so such a security team can not go ashore, only in the sea area agreed with the customer, take their own speedboat, board the ship at sea.
As soon as they got on the boat, the team members all had their hands behind their backs, and their dark skin was shining in the sun. On deck
three, a team of four was lined up.
Next to them were two boxes that looked quite weighty. A man with a buzz cut in the
team stepped forward and said, “Hello, Captain. I am the leader of the sixth team of Sea Shark. I used to be a member of the Chinese Navy. In 2010, I participated in the escort of the Chinese fleet in the Gulf of Aden. My brothers call me Daqi.”.
Old Qian shook hands with him and said, Captain Qi, welcome.
We, the Huihai, are all depending on you this time. Captain
Qi stood at attention and said, “Your safety is our mission!” After that, Captain Qi introduced several other members one by one: Xiao Niu, looking at a boy in his early 20s, with the corners of his mouth down and wearing this metal coin around his neck, felt like a safety charm given to him by a girl; Ah Zhuang, the tallest member, with a T-shirt full of tendons on his body and a small bag on his waist, which looked like a knife in the shape; Wang Fried, a little fat member of the team, his eyes were exposed to the sun, and he was even more invisible.
He also seemed to be the most talkative one, and when Captain Qi introduced him, he said, “My name is Wang Bang, King of the Mountain King, Bomb of the Bomb!” Old Qian and I looked at each other and smiled, feeling that these security guards were not difficult to get along with.
“Sea Shark” is very efficient. After a brief introduction of the team members, Captain Qi began to arrange the work. The boy of the
calf took out a “list of equipment” and asked the first mate to fill it out. The first mate took it to him to fill in the form.
On this side, Captain Qi asked Ah Zhuang and Wang Bang to open the boxes they had brought up and introduce the contents one by one.
This is an AK47. We have four of them, each of which can fire 30 rounds at a time.
This will be put in the box in advance, and in the case of a real encounter with pirates, we will open the weapon box and take it out to fight against pirates. It was the first time the
crew had seen a genuine firearm, and they all craned their necks to get a second look at the legendary gun that is said to “take the most lives every year.”. Captain
Qi pointed to another box. “There are some barbed wire and some tools to defend against pirates. We will conduct an overall inspection on the ship later, and make some protection for the places that need to be protected.”. When
we encounter pirates, the first thing we do is to frighten them and drive them away so that they don’t get on the ship.
If the pirates get on board, then all the crew members will have to hide in a safe cabin with good facilities. The members of
our Sea Shark team will engage in a head-on conflict with the pirates in the front.
One of the crew members couldn’t help asking, “Will you really shoot?”?
“” Shoot? Captain
Qi suddenly smiled. Of
course.
He tur his back, then whipped up his T-shirt. Behind
him, there were three round scars, although the edges had grown together with the surrounding skin, but the skin tissue that had grown back after being burned still looked very ferocious.
This was the year before last, when we were in Somalia and encountered Somali sailors.
At that time, they directly hit the hull of the ship with a shoulder-borne rocket launcher, and then climbed onto the ship in disorder.
We confronted them, and finally I was shot in the back, and their men were shot down by us. The crew members who
asked the question were silent. The “Somali sailors” were the best-equipped and most powerful of the four pirate forces in Somalia.
The captain is actually a person who has personally experienced Somali pirates and has had a direct exchange of fire.
Everyone has gained a lot of confidence in their smooth passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
But I was even more anxious. What I saw in the news before I boarded the ship, although it was true, was always described in words across the screen. Now, when I saw the injury behind the captain, it was directly in front of me, telling us that it was a matter of life hanging by a thread.
I was still praying not to engage in a head-on exchange of fire, because it was dangerous to do so, and this anxiety kept me frowning. After the
introduction, Lao Qian and I walked around the deck and cabin with our security teammates to understand the internal and external structure of the “Huihai” and help set up the safe cabin.
The safe cabin must be hidden enough, and the door can only be opened from the inside, so that if the pirates really board the ship, it will be difficult to find you.
The first mate led Captain Qi to a corner of the cabin and pushed hard with both hands.
With his effort, a gap slowly appeared in the wall, and a secret space appeared in front of everyone.
This is the safe cabin we have set up in advance.
I followed him in. He and Lao Qian had come to see it before we set out. There was water and food for the whole crew for at least a week. There are
also special bags for dropping.
Old money is not at ease, but also specifically asked to put a separate satellite phone inside. Captain
Qi circled around the safe cabin for two weeks, checked the living reserve, and repeatedly knocked on the cabin door with his fist.
Yes, this safe cabin is very strong.
Our tactical position will also be set up with this safety cabin as the center later. The
crew’s own escape routes will also be rehearsed together. Old Qian and
I nodded. In fact, they were already ready.
“When the time comes, if there is a direct conflict, after the alarm is lifted, we will knock on the cabin door, like this.” Captain Qi raised his arm and knocked rhythmically on the cabin door with thick joints, one long and two short, a total of three times. And everyone
here heard it.
At this time, the calf followed the first mate all the way to fill out the form, Lao Qian and I have read the form one by one, and feel that there is no problem. After reading the form, Captain
Chi used his own satellite phone to call the “Sea Shark” maritime dispatch center and reported the situation of the “Huihai” one by one. In the dining hall in the
evening, the “Huihai” welcomed a sumptuous dinner.
This time, the chef on the ship was from Sichuan, and the stir-fried dishes were delicious and spicy. Under the contrast of good dishes and good meals, the crew and the seemingly serious security teammates were also a little warm up.
The second officer loves to drink beer. He opened a can and brought it to Captain Qi. Captain Qi waved his hand to the beer he brought to him: We can’t drink on the ship. We’ll have to take shifts to guard the cockpit later. As soon as the
crew heard this, they were not embarrassed, and each of them was given a can of Red Bull.
Zhuang was already on duty in the cab at this time, and the kitchen saw that he was very big, and sent him a double dinner.
He did not chat with the first mate in charge of the ship. After dinner, he sat with his arms folded and occasionally took out a fingertip gyroscope to play with.
Tomorrow, the Huihai will enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Early in the morning, Lao Qian and I walked into the bridge and looked at the sea area ahead. The bridge specially arranged one more crew member.
The Huihai has sailed into the Gulf of Aden, into the realm of piracy, and our hearts are in our mouths. If there are no special circumstances, the
crew are required to stay at work, not to leave without authorization, let alone go on deck without authorization. The man on duty in the
cab had been replaced by Wang Bang, who was holding a thick stomach and holding an AK47 in his hand at this time.
Outside on the deck, the calf walked back and forth repeatedly with a gun in both hands, looking around the sea without blinking.
Today, the security team members have already held the AK47 in their hands and are always ready. Captain
Qi was also in the cab, holding a telescope and looking at the sea in the distance.
Not too far from the sea, suddenly found a mother ship towing three or four small speedboats.
The pirate ship! I’m not an optimistic person. I’m used to thinking about the worst situation. I never think I can get through this time by luck.
Sure enough, I met him. After
identifying the target, the pirates used a speedboat to approach the Huihai, hooked it, and then towed it back.
However, the size of the “Huihai” is huge, and the freeboard and other places that are easy to get on board were raised by the security team yesterday.
As a result, the tanker, which was flying the Chinese flag, seemed to be a big headache for the pirates. How could they rob the ship if they couldn’t get on board? Therefore, we watched the pirates give up boarding the ship, and the speedboat was getting farther and farther away from the “Huihai.”.
The crew all breathed a sigh of relief. I could hear the sound of everyone exhaling. Old Qian and I couldn’t help looking at each other.
But Captain Qi is still ready to fight at the moment, and his breath is tight.
This made me and Lao Qian nervous again. What did Captain Qi find?
Or what’s going on? Didn’t the
pirates leave?
We didn’t dare to spread this emotion. In the cab where many people were, we couldn’t ask questions, let alone discuss them. It was a big taboo to spread tension at this time. As
we watched the Huihai continue to move in, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was still very close, and the crew could already see with the naked eye the gradually tightening entrance to the Strait.
The layers of “gate-like” rocks really give people the feeling of a “gate of life and death.”. Captain
Qi picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “We have entered the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.”.
“” Cheer up.
My God, it looks like it’s just a starter. This is the key area. The narrowest part of the strait is the best place to start. Old Qian and I took a deep breath, but our eyes still didn’t dare to change at all. We said we weren’t afraid. That’s a lie.
The king stood beside him, shaking the fat on his body, and suddenly stood up, staring intently at the deck. In
the walkie-talkie, the response of the other two team members also came. As
the Huihai begins to merge, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the busiest in the world, with an average of hundreds of ships passing through it every day. Although
it was morning now, there were several other small fishing boats following back and forth. The rocks on
both sides are getting closer and closer, and the hull of the “Huihai” begins to enter the channel.
Old Qian himself stood in front of the steering wheel, holding the steering wheel with both hands and looking at the sea ahead with his eyes shining.
The first mate and the second mate held their breath and stared at the data in their hands.
At this moment, all previous sailing experiences are invalid, and nothing can guarantee your safety except weapons.
Suddenly, Captain Qi said, “There’s a situation at three o’clock.”.
I went to the window and looked out. A small, dilapidated speedboat was speeding toward our boat. The people on board completely covered their faces with their clothes, and two machine gun bullets were hanging on their bodies, one on the left and one on the right. The
pirates are coming.
Wang was already standing by the window. He quickly judged the distance between the pirates and them: Captain, one thousand meters.
You go on deck first.
“” Copy that. When encountering pirates, the
security team must follow the “security principle” and will only fire warning shots when the pirates come within 500 meters.
Wang is now carrying a gun in the past, one side is to take a video of the encounter with pirates in advance, in order to report on the work later, but also to facilitate the deck, at any time to warn the pirates. Zhuang, who was on duty
last night, quickly went to the deck to prepare. He and the calf hid in the tactical positions they had set up before and loaded their guns.
Captain, it’s almost 500 meters.
Wang Bang hid behind the bunker and accurately judged the situation ahead. Fire a warning shot at
500 meters.
Just listening to the sound of “Pa,” Wang Bo raised the gun in his hand and swept it at the sky.
This is for the pirates. Tell the pirates to leave as soon as possible.
But that pirate in the speedboat didn’t seem to like it at all. They just kept going.
Captain, the pirates will not retreat. When
Wang finished, he fired another shot. The
distance is only three hundred meters. Captain
Qi said to Old Qian, “Captain, please lead all the crew into the safe cabin.”.
Old Qian took one look at Wang Bang on the deck on the right, gave me a pair of looks, and they nodded.
The chief officer picked up the ship’s announcement: “Attention, all crew members. Attention, all crew members. Take refuge in the safe cabin immediately. Take refuge in the safe cabin immediately.”.
。
。 Earlier
yesterday, the crew members were already familiar with their escape routes under the arrangement of Captain Qi.
Now, as soon as they listen to the radio, they arrange the work at hand one after another, and then retreat to the safe cabin nervously and quickly.
Old Qian and I also entered the cabin under the cover of Ah Zhuang. The
deck and the ship were left entirely to the Sea Shark crew. Still worried,
I asked Ah Chuang, “What are you going to do?”? It’s too dangerous
out there.
“Zhuang straightened his back and said,” Don’t worry, we’ll pick you up later.
Then he turned his head and left. After
entering the safe cabin, the first mate counted them one by one: “21.”.
。
22.。
。
23.。
。
24 “” Report to Mr. Money, the crew is all here.
Then the old money ordered the cabin door to be locked, and the metal door closed tightly with a bang. The first mate and the sailor tightened the lock.
Old money looked around, at this time 24 crew members have all escaped into the safe cabin, but everyone is the first time to encounter this situation, the small safe cabin, or inevitably filled with worry and anxiety atmosphere.
I felt the wall and found a small box.
That’s the satellite phone that old money asked to put in before, and it really came in handy.
He pressed a number he knew by heart and said, “Let’s call the search and rescue center first.”. On the
deck, Captain Qi was leading his men in a fierce battle with the pirates under cover. The equipment of those
pirates is not worse than them, but the technology is not very good, always climb up two times, and be beaten down by the team members, back and forth several times, like whack-a-mole.
The king shook his fat chin. He was already sweating, but none of the pirates were dead.
He doesn’t think it’s right.
Chief, do you think they didn’t really want to get on board at all? Captain
Qi is holding the AK in his hand and aiming with breathless concentration.
A string of bullets went by, and all the pirates on the speedboat below fell down.
Awesome.
Wang did not forget to flatter at the critical moment.
At that moment, Captain Qi raised his head. He looked at Wang and pondered for a moment: “That’s right.”.
At that moment, he rolled backwards with his gun in his arms and went out of the cockpit in a few moments.
Then he pressed warily against the cockpit wall, shifting his position and looking around at the sea below.
Zhuang and Niu were on the left and stern of the boat respectively. When they
saw Captain Qi, they both raised their thumbs to him and leaned slightly in their direction.
This is saying, “I have no problem here.”. Captain
Qi felt wrong. He continued to look around warily. The instinct of a soldier made him feel that he was being watched at the moment. The
ship is drifting slowly across the channel with the water. The rocks
on both sides were still very high and dense, and he stared at every rock outside the railing.
I think the problem is there.
At this moment, there was a “bang” at the bow of the boat, and a burst of white smoke came out.
“Bazooka!” Captain Qi immediately reacted, the pirate partner is in front! “Ah Chong!”! Cover! He moved quickly to the bow of the ship, intending to repel the pirates there. As soon as
he ran out of the bunker, suddenly, a machine gun appeared on the rock next to him! There was a pirate who had already climbed up and waited. He was carrying a machine gun and had been aiming at Captain Qi! At this time, the calf at the stern of the boat saw something wrong and quickly made a sound to stop it! But it’s too late. As soon as Captain
Qi rushed out, the pirates hiding high on the reef fired their machine guns, and with a burst of “crackling” shooting, the deck was splashed with lines of debris.
The rest of the team instinctively shrank their necks. A series of
machine gun attacks, one of the stray bullets hit Captain Qi in the back, his whole body stiffened and fell.
“Captain!” “Captain!” “Captain!” Captain Qi was shot. With conditioned reflex, he rolled aside at the moment he fell to the ground. His blood was all over the deck. You are so
stupid, you son of a pirate, you dare to beat your grandfather.
。
。
The bullet seemed to have hit some vital organ, and now he felt cold all over and his limbs felt limp.
“Ah Chong!”! Don’t come out! There are too many of them! Leave me alone! Captain Qi knew very well in his heart that he had already explained that the remaining brothers could live a little longer. Captain
Qi struggled to feel a shuttle of bullets on his body, loaded them, and then looked again at the small speedboat of the tugboat below. There was a gurgling of blood on
his lower back, and a cold sweat as big as a bean on his forehead. He clenched his teeth and stared at it with all his might: Even if the little pirate Ma’s father dies, he will pull you on his back.
。
。 There was
a burst of machine gun fire. There were three pirates in
the small speedboat, and they all fell down. After
shooting the bullet, Captain Qi felt his eyelids heavy and his head could not be lifted. He touched his back, and his clothes were soaked with blood.
All right, that’s it, myself.
。
。
No loss.
“Captain!” A Zhuang witnessed the whole journey from the side. He ignored the possibility of danger and rushed up with an arrow to hold Captain Qi.
But the captain can’t shake himself awake.
Wang and the Mavericks were also anxious. They saw the captain fall, but the danger zone had not yet passed. The pirate
on the reef saw that he had shot down a member of the team. He set up a machine gun and aimed at Ah Zhuang.
“Ah Chong!”! Chuang! The king shouted and aimed at the pirates on the reef. He had to save his teammates! Wang kept a close eye on himself, and “Pa” was a burst of blows. The rocks on the reef were splashed by the bullets he fired, and the pirate with a machine gun seemed to have been shot. He covered his shoulder and fell down.
“If I don’t show my power, I’ll be a sick cat!” Do you know what Lao Tzu is! Wang Bang! The explosion of the bomb! However, with a sudden “snap,” Wang’s mouth stiffened, and his frightened eyes did not have time to close.
I just felt something hot coming out of my skull. “What is it?”.
。
。
。
？
He will never know.
At this time he guarded the right side of the ship, below do not know when a new speedboat came, they should have been ambushed, waiting for the right time to come out.
Eventually, the pirates boarded the ship.
5. The crew members who were hiding in the safe cabin at this time knew nothing about the situation on the deck.
The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center has received their call for help and is helping to coordinate the rescue.
But the rescue has not come, only to hear the sound of heavy footsteps outside, as if anxious to find something, the crew thought that the security team members came, a little happy. As soon as my
expression changed, I stretched out my arm and stopped everyone silently.
At this time, I don’t know whether I am an enemy or a friend.
Sure enough, the footsteps outside came and went, and it seemed that someone was shooting repeatedly on the outer wall.
But no one went to the correct position of the cabin door and knocked on the cabin door with the agreed rhythm. Most of the
crew also guessed that the deck might have been lost.
Someone was crying, but there was no sound.
They just held their knees silently and curled up quietly in the darkness. The
air slowly thinned down, but everyone just slowed down their breathing more lightly.
I don’t know how long it took, but calm seemed to be restored outside the safe cabin. A message came from the
satellite phone: “The Huihai, the Huihai, the warship has arrived, they are boarding, they are boarding.”. As soon as Old Qian and
I heard the news of the satellite phone, our spirits lifted. It’s been
hours. Soon after the end of the
satellite phone, there was another sound of footsteps outside the safe cabin, accompanied by some voices.
Then came the announcement: “Huihai, we are the Chinese Navy, there are no pirates on board, you can come out now; there are no pirates on board, you can come out now.”.
。
。
A familiar paragraph of Chinese came. The broadcast of the
“Huihai” suddenly rang, and the already sleepy crew members looked puzzled at the familiar voice.
Until they finally heard clearly: We can go out! Several crew members with good physical strength took the lead in rushing up and pushing the cabin door desperately! And then everyone swarmed to the exit! We’re safe. We’re finally saved.
With the help of the navy, the Huihai finally left the Bab el-Mandeb Strait safely, sailed into the Red Sea, and entered the Suez Canal.
The crew counted their belongings and found that all their valuables had disappeared.
Because the crew hid in the safe cabin, the pirates who kidnapped the crew for ransom were at their wits’ end, and they did not take the crude oil away. It seems that the pirates were not well prepared this time, so they had to choose the worst way to seize the property. On the
deck, there were only several pools of messy blood, and the weapons of the team members were missing, and they were likely to be robbed by pirates.
I think of the security team members who had dinner with us yesterday, and they used to be so lively. Captain
Qi, Zhuang, Xiaoniu, Wang Bang. After
only a few hours, there was no chance to meet again. Old Qian and
I walked to the biggest pool of blood at the bow of the boat. Old Qian took off his captain’s hat and looked at the dried blood on the ground with me, silently mourning them.
The rest of the crew, too, came up behind the two old captains and saluted them in silence.
The Suez Canal, photographed during the voyage, is still blue.
Life and death, prosperity and decline are still on the sea every day.
(And so on, all to be optimized, please do not sit in the right seat). Pay attention not to get lost ~
