And a few meters (it is an European boat) of good hemp line ...
The HDMS Absalon — the Danish flagship of the three-vessel NATO flotilla in the region — disrupted a pirate operation by "scuttling" one of the large boats used by Somali gangs to transport attack teams to piracy hunting areas far off the coast.Not yet.
The mothership was fired on and sunk after its crew members were transferred to a smaller boat in tow, which was allowed to return to the mainland, she said.
"NATO is not in the business of firing at skiffs with pirates in them," Lowe said in an interview from NATO's naval headquarters in Northwood, near London.
Ok, no dead pirates, but one thing at a time. A small "Decision Point" on PLAN SALAMANDER; I'll take it.
One note here: we are talking about the Danes. They don't have horns on their bridge wings, but as they prove every day in AFG and other areas in the war on terror, for a nation of a bit more than 5 million souls - Denmark pound for pound is one of our best allies. Few caveats - little problem going "kinetic."
They play varsity football in this war, and deserve praise at every turn.
....and yes - I would be remiss if I didn't remind you that they are using one of my dreamboats: HDMS ABSALON. We've talked about her many times here. Once again - I would trade 15 LCS for 10 ABSALONs any day. You talk about a ship perfect for "soft-power," "presence," and so on .... she is it - and she is a true multi-mission ship on top of it all.
