War Is Boring » Axe on Donald Cook

World Politics Review: Counterpiracy Mission Targets Seafarers’ Hearts and Minds

David Axe — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:51:29 +0000

by DAVID AXE

The blue-painted fishing dhow with the suspicious hooks on its railings appeared as a low, curved shape on the destroyer USS Donald Cook‘s high-powered security cameras.

It was a day in mid-September, three months into the Virginia-based warship’s deployment to the Gulf of Aden as part of a five-ship NATO counterpiracy task force. With hijackings declining across East African waters, Donald Cook‘s 250 crew had had little to do on most days. The appearance of the dhow and, on it, what looked like grappling hooks useful for boarding large vessels, raised the prospect of a much-anticipated encounter with pirates.

A voice on Donald Cook‘s ship-wide address system alerted the scattered members of the warship’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team to grab their gear and weapons, and race to the deck. There, the sailors muscled a small, rigid-hull inflatable boat into the water. The VBSS team, led by Lt. j.g. Christopher Bowie, climbed in and sped towards the dhow, rifles trained on its occupants.

Boarding teams man the front lines of the war against piracy. When one of the roughly 40 international warships currently deployed to East African waters encounters a pirate boat, more often than not it’s the warship’s VBSS team that’s tasked to apprehend the boat’s crew. “It’s basically the nautical equivalent of having boots on the ground,” Capt. Derek Granger, Donald Cook‘s commanding officer, said during World Politics Review‘s four-day embarkment on the 9,000-ton warship. “You’ve got to have guys up there that can conduct those inspections and provide intelligence back to the ship of what they see from 10 feet, as opposed to a thousand yards away.”

Read the rest at World Politics Review.

(Photo: Navy)

Skull & Bones: Donald Cook Boarding Team Video

David Axe — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:21:24 +0000

A year after Somali piracy peaked with more than 100 ships attacked, the world’s navies have assembled dozens of warships to combat the threat. David Axe joins the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook in Djibouti, to observe firsthand this “global war on piracy.”

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by DAVID AXE

Sailors from Donald Cook board a suspected pirate boat on the Gulf of Aden in September 2009. The boat turned out to be a fishing vessel.

(Video: Navy)

VoA News: Officials Say Somali Piracy is Declining

David Axe — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:36:25 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

In 2008, Somali pirates captured more than 100 large commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, provoking a massive international response. Today, some 40 warships patrol Somali waters. The patrols and other measures have helped decrease successful hijacking more than 90 percent. Monsoon winds also contributed to the reduction, but U.S. maritime officials warn hijackings may increase now that the regional monsoon season has ended.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook departs the port of Djibouti in East Africa, bound for a patrol zone somewhere in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2008, Somali pirates prowling the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean hijacked more than 100 large vessels.

In the last 18 months, warships from more than 12 nations have converged on Somali waters, to combat the pirates. These and other measures have finally had an effect, says the British officer leading the NATO counter-piracy fleet.

Read the rest at VoA News.

(Video: David Axe)

Offiziere.ch: Merchant Crews Gain Upper Hand in Piracy Fight

David Axe — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:58:23 +0000

by DAVID AXE

In April, the American crew of the container ship Maersk Alabama fought off an attempted hijacking by Somali pirates 250 miles from the Somali coast. As the pirates boarded the vessel, most of the crew locked themselves in the ship’s superstructure, denying pirates the access they needed to seize control. Eventually, the crew counter-attacked, holding one of the pirates and forcing the others off the vessel and into a lifeboat. Maersk Alabama’s captain Richard Phillips had been kidnapped in the brief struggle; the crew’s attempt to trade their captive for Phillips failed, but three days later U.S. Navy snipers killed three of the pirates and freed Phillips.

Maersk Alabama’s struggle was not an isolated incident. As Somali piracy has evolved over the years from opportunistic coastal banditry to sophisticated high-seas crime, so too have seafarers’ defenses. In December 2008, the crew of a Chinese fishing trawler Zhenua 4 barricaded themselves atop the elevated bridge of their vessel as pirates clambered aboard. The crew emptied beer bottles, filled them with fuel, lit them and tossed them like hand grenades at the attacking pirates. The makeshift defenses stalled the pirates long enough for international warships to approach, scaring off the pirates.

Across the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, merchant crews are adopting increasingly effective defenses measures. Commodore Steve Chick, senior officer of a five-ship NATO counter-piracy task force patrolling the Gulf of Aden, recalls flying across the Gulf of Aden in his Lynx helicopter to survey ships’ defenses. He saw ships with barbed wire on their railings, with access ladders cut or raised, and with fire hoses primed to shoot down any boarders. These tricks, combined with improved security on land and the presence of some 40 warships in East Africa waters, have turned the tide in the “global war on piracy.” Between July and September last year, there were 17 hijackings. This year in the same period, there was just one.

Read the rest at Offiziere.ch.

(Photo: Reuters)

Skull & Bones: Iranian “Ship of Interest” Video

David Axe — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:49:51 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

Donald Cook has a close encounter with a mysterious Iranian warship.

(Video: David Axe)

World Politics Review: Iranian Naval Patrols Mystify Pirate-Hunting Coalition

David Axe — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:39:03 +0000

by DAVID AXE

It was a rare moment of excitement on a long, tedious counter-piracy patrol. On the evening of Sept. 24, lookouts on the USS Donald Cook, a Virginia-based destroyer assigned to a NATO flotilla in the Gulf of Aden, spotted a mysterious shape on the horizon. The distant vessel did not respond to Donald Cook‘s hails as it loomed closer.

With the cry, “Ship of interest,” crew members summoned Donald Cook‘s captain, Derek Granger. Interrupted during a rare bit of down-time, Granger climbed to the bridge wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Lighting his customary cigar, he joined lookouts on the port bridge wing — a sort of outdoor deck attached to the ship’s side — and scrutinized the approaching vessel through binoculars.

Soon the mystery ship’s features were evident: a long hull, blocky superstructure, tall vertical posts and an aft flight deck on which was lashed a blue-and-white painted Sea King helicopter. The Americans consulted with a ship recognition guide, just to be safe, but it was plain to see: The vessel was an Iranian naval supply ship — one of at least four warships deployed by Tehran to the pirate-infested waters.

Read the rest in World Politics Review.

(Photo: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: Donald Cook Engineering Video

David Axe — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:13:35 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

Ensign Justin Kelly takes us on a tour of Donald Cook‘s engine room.

(Video: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: Captain Derek Granger Video

David Axe — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:08:42 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

Donald Cook Captain Derek Granger talks about piracy, logistics and keeping his sailors motivated.

(Video: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: NATO Commodore Visits Donald Cook Video

David Axe — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:30:03 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

NATO Commodore Steve Chick visits USS Donald Cook off Djibouti to discuss piracy.

(Video: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: Donald Cook Getting Underway Video

David Axe — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:25:24 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

Watch as USS Donald Cook gets underway from Djibouti.

(Video: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: Resupplying Donald Cook Video

David Axe — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:18:00 +0000

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by DAVID AXE

Observe as sailors resupply USS Donald Cook in Djibouti.

(Video: David Axe)

Skull & Bones: Professional Suicide

David Axe — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:10:15 +0000

by DAVID AXE

“We’re victims of our own success, collectively,” says Commander Derek Granger, captain of the destroyer USS Donald Cook. A year after Somali piracy grabbed the headlines with a series of high-profile hijackings, the world has mobilized to deter further piracy — and to great effect. There were 17 hijackings between July and September 2008. There was just one in the same period, this year. The presence of some 40 international warships, including “DC,” has made piracy a risky proposition for the criminals.

“How long can you sustain it?” Granger asks regarding this armada. “It’s expensive keeping ships underway.” And with pirates staying home for now, the world might think the problem is permanent resolved. But piracy’s like the Pillsbury Doughboy, Granger says. You poke it here, and it pops out there. It never stays poked forever.

So what’s cheaper? Maintaining a permanent system of naval patrols in East African waters, or allowing the patrols to wane until attacks spike again — at which point the world can surge more forces into the area? Granger seems to dislike his own conclusion. “My gut feeling is it’s cheaper to deal with the spike.”

But that means that potentially hundreds of seafarers will wind up in captivity during the breaks in international patrols. That’s a high price to pay, but maybe not so high that it’s worth sustaining an armada in remote, inhospitable African waters.

(Photo: David Axe)