UPDATE V: Maersk Alabama attacked by pirates Maersk Alabama Situation: 1700 EDT Update http://www.maersklinelimited.com We want to respond to inquiries with the most recent information in a consistent manner. First of all, we would like to extend to the families of the crew and the captain of the Maersk Alabama our thoughts and prayers. As [...]

I saw a comment post on gcaptain that sparked my interest. It said “Time to bring back the Q ships”. While the entire world now engages in discussing how to stop piracy, I took a moment to research this, as I did not recall what exactly the Q ships were. Q ships where heavily armed merchant ships used in WWI and WWII with concealed weaponry that were designed to lure enemy subs into engaging them in a surface attack. Essentially decoy ships.

Here is the latest directly from Maersk:

Maersk Alabama Situation: 0600 EDT Update

Norfolk, Va., 9 April 2009: The current situation involving the Maersk Alabama has remained much the same throughout the night. The ship’s crewmembers have been accounted for and are safely aboard the vessel. However, the ship’s captain remains in the custody of the pirates, who departed in one of the ship’s encapsulated life boats on April 8.

Just when it seems like it couldn’t get any worse for the U.S. Navy, the nuclear submarine USS HARTFORD collided with the amphibious ship USS NEW ORLEANS in the Strait of Hormuz at 1 AM local on the 19th of March.   After embarrassing engineering problems with the Navy’s newest amphib class kept the USS [...]

Yes.  Hard to believe, but true.  In an attempt that clearly demonstrates the boldness of the Somalian pirates, the USNS John Lenthall, a fleet oiler, was forced to fire warning shots to repel suspected pirates.  This clearly emphasized the need for an even greater naval presence in the area to counter the drastic increase in [...]