The Russians wont Shoot.

Well, according to news reports, the RFS Neustrashimy is not going to take action against the pirates off the coast of Somalia after all.

The Ukranian ship with its cargo of 33 T-72 Tanks, MV Faina is still under the control of Somalian pirates and for a while there it looked as though Moscow was sending in the big guns to sort it out.

Already, several US ships are in the area including the USS Howard which has been keeping a sharp eye on the pirates.

The Russian warship Neustrashimy is in the area to deter actions such as this and to protect Russian commercial vessels from being attacked or hijacked.

So if they wont shoot, whats the message to the pirates? Will they really be deterred knowing that although the sight of a warship might be scary, the fact that they are not going to do anything is comforting.

Perhaps we should ask the French to sort it out, after all, they succeeded earlier in the year when French troops swooped on a captured yacht and rescued all on board. Read more >>>

USS Howard Watches the Pirates

The US Navy Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer USS Howard is keeping a sharp eye on Somalian Pirates who have taken over the Ukrainian ship Faina filled with 33 Russian T-72 tanks.

The Somali pirates want US$20 million before they will release the ship.

Interestingly the Russians themselves have sent their own warship The Russian missile frigate RFS Neustrashimy (fearless) to the area and the USS Howard is said to be waiting for them to take over the situation.

If the Pirates attempt to unload any of the Russian Weapons from the Faina, then I think we can expect some naval action off the Somalian coastline, although I dont know if the USS Howard would attack a Ukrainian ship just yet.

If anyone has an itchy trigger finger I would think it would be the Russians. I would expect the USS Howard to move away to a safe distance and allow the RFS Neustrashimy to open fire. The Russians never seem to take any shit when it comes to standoffs.

It will be interesting to see how this unfold, I hope that the USS Howard and the RFS Neustrashimy co-operate with each other, it will be a good chance to help improve relations between the US and Russia, even in a small way.

• Photos of Russian Destroyers and Frigates >>
• USS Howard Homepage >>
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Russian, American, Malaysian and French warships have been involved in patrolling the dangerous waters off the Somali coastline where pirate attacks are becoming all to common.