Ever wondered what happens when pirates bite off more than they can chew? We're counting down the wildest times Somali pirates tangled with the world's toughest navies—spoiler alert, it never ends well for the pirates! Dive in for action, fails, and epic rescues. Subscribe for more crazy true stories and drop a comment on your favorite moment! #History #Pirates #Navy #TrueStories #EpicFails
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Introduction to Somali Pirate Encounters
0:38 - Chinese Response to Taiangku Hijacking
2:32 - USS Nicholas Pirate Attack
4:07 - Operation Atalanta and British Navy Response
6:59 - Sin Sensua Four: Crew Fights Back
8:26 - Operation Dawn 8: Bunga Laurel Rescue
10:54 - NATO Stops Norwegian Tanker Attack
12:34 - Notable Pirate Incidents and Lessons Learned
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Introduction to Somali Pirate Encounters
0:38 - Chinese Response to Taiangku Hijacking
2:32 - USS Nicholas Pirate Attack
4:07 - Operation Atalanta and British Navy Response
6:59 - Sin Sensua Four: Crew Fights Back
8:26 - Operation Dawn 8: Bunga Laurel Rescue
10:54 - NATO Stops Norwegian Tanker Attack
12:34 - Notable Pirate Incidents and Lessons Learned
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NewsTranscript
00:00From our previous stories, it's clear that most pirates weren't really the smartest.
00:05But think about this, would you really charge at the U.S. Navy using only a cheap boat and a
00:09rifle?
00:10Today we're going to look at 10 times when Somali pirates thought it was a good idea to go up
00:16against the strongest naval force in the world.
00:19Some of them lost their lives, and some ended up in prison, even though they were only 15 years old.
00:26But before we start, if you're new to our channel, don't forget to subscribe so you'll always be updated with
00:32videos like this.
00:37Number 10 is the Tayangku, a Chinese merchant ship.
00:45On November 20-20, 2010 a group of Somali pirates successfully captured the Chinese merchant ship Tayangku.
00:52But these aren't the type of pirates who attack with just their bare hands.
00:56These pirates are fully armed with weapons like assault rifles, grenades, and even rocket-propelled bombs.
01:03During these events, the crew did everything they could.
01:06They sent out a mayday, shut down the engine, and locked themselves in the safety chamber, waiting there for rescue.
01:13There were rescue ships from other countries, but they couldn't get close because bullets were raining down from the pirates.
01:19When the news reached China, they didn't waste any time.
01:23While other countries would take days or even months before taking action,
01:26the Chinese navy, along with air support and several speedboats full of soldiers,
01:31immediately rushed to the hijacked ship.
01:33As the Chinese approached, they didn't hesitate at all.
01:36The soldiers immediately boarded, and that's when the real operation began.
01:40They swept through the ship room by room, carefully checking every narrow space.
01:44They were armed with M4A1 rifles, while a sniper was also positioned on the naval ship.
01:50And before long, they had control of the ship.
01:52They rescued the crew, but there was a bit of disappointment.
01:56The pirates had already escaped.
01:57They immediately left on a speedboat when they heard the roar of a helicopter and saw the navy closing in.
02:04The pirates left the ship with bullet holes, RPG fragments, and all sorts of melee weapons they used.
02:10And the medical team still had to disinfect the inside of the ship before the crew's fear subsided.
02:16And after the operation, my uncle continued his voyage safely and unharmed.
02:21And in fact, this is how a country should act when their ship is attacked.
02:25And why waste months if you can finish it in just a few hours?
02:329. USS Nicholas Under Attack
02:38Some Somali pirates have low IQs, but some are even worse.
02:42They can't even hide. You know what I mean.
02:44On April 1, 2010, there was a small speedboat carrying a group of pirates.
02:49It was already night, and they were hoping to find an easy target in the Indian Ocean.
02:54And they thought they were lucky because they saw a ship sailing alone.
02:59As they got closer, they didn't hesitate. They drew their weapons and immediately attacked the ship.
03:04But within seconds, they immediately realized that they had made the worst decision.
03:09The ship they attacked was not a fishing vessel and not a cargo ship.
03:13It was the USS Nicholas, a ship of the United States Navy, one of the strongest military forces in the
03:19world.
03:20We don't know who was more surprised.
03:22Was it the pirates when they found out they had attacked the Navy?
03:25Or the U.S. Navy soldiers who were suddenly fired upon by a small boat that seemed to have no
03:31fear of death?
03:32But one thing is certain.
03:34One side laughed, and the other had their boat destroyed.
03:37After they blew up the speedboat, the Navy personnel quickly swept the area.
03:41They immediately detained three pirates, and after just a few minutes, they found two more on their mothership.
03:48According to maritime expert Doug Burnett, the five should face piracy charges in the United States itself.
03:55And if you were asked, what should be done to the five pirates?
03:58Let us know in the comments, and it's up to you if you want to be harsh.
04:01But that's your opinion.
04:06Number 8. Operation Atalanta
04:13On March 29, 2009-7 Somali pirates attacked the German Navy tanker Spessart.
04:19And as was their usual bad luck, they picked the wrong ship.
04:23This tanker was part of Operation Atalanta,
04:26an international mission launched in December 2008 to protect ships passing through the route off Somalia.
04:33From December 2008 to April 2009,
04:36the Indian Ocean was being patrolled by the Dutch, Spanish, Greek, and U.S. navies.
04:41And that means the pirates chose the worst timing and the worst target.
04:46There were 40 crew members on the ship plus 12 security personnel,
04:49and when the pirates approached, they immediately fired and tried to board the tanker.
04:54But the ship's security team fired back, making the pirates think twice.
04:59However, they still continued with their attempted hijacking.
05:02Upon hearing the mayday, the Greek Navy vessel H.S. Pizarra quickly rushed in,
05:08along with air support from a Spanish helicopter.
05:11When they arrived, the pirates noticed them.
05:13And that's when the chase began.
05:16But it didn't last long, and after just a few hours,
05:19the German Navy frigate FGS Redland Fries arrived and stopped the pirates.
05:24All seven were captured and brought to the German Navy for legal processing.
05:32Number 7. British Navy Sinks Pirate Ship
05:35Number 6. Maces
05:39The British Royal Navy is well known as one of the strongest and most formidable naval forces in the world.
05:45And from the 18th century to the early 20th century, they ruled the seas.
05:51And in 2010, a group of Somali pirates found out why, and in the hardest way possible.
05:56A Spanish patrol aircraft spotted two suspicious boats in the Gulf of Aden,
06:01and they immediately reported it to the British Navy.
06:04The British didn't waste any time, and they deployed two speedboats, and the chase began immediately.
06:10The pirates tried to escape using their welded boat, but they were no match for the speed and skill of
06:16the British soldiers.
06:17When they saw they had no hope left, they turned off the engine, stood up, raised their hands, and surrendered.
06:23When the Navy arrived, they were met with all sorts of weapons, such as grappling hooks, rocket-propelled grenades, machine
06:29guns, bullets, and gasoline.
06:31And remember, the ship that chased them was HMS Portland.
06:35After capturing the 10 pirates, the British Navy even blew up one of their boats.
06:40But even though the 10 pirates were caught, they were released shortly after for the most annoying reason.
06:46They said there wasn't enough evidence.
06:48Isn't it enough evidence when you see a grappling hook, machine gun, RPG, and all sorts of explosives on their
06:54boat?
06:59Number 6. Rescue of Sin Sensua 4
07:04On December 17, 2008, a fishing vessel owned by China, used for communications construction, was hijacked by nine Somali pirates
07:12while on its way back to Shanghai.
07:14They were carrying heavy weapons such as rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, and other war equipment.
07:20When the crew looked out and saw the pirates approaching, they immediately sent out a mayday.
07:25They knew they were about to face a tough battle because it would take hours before help could arrive.
07:31While the Malaysian warship was heading to Daziri in KD-3 and a Malaysian military helicopter was on its way,
07:36the 30 crew members of Genua 4 were already in the middle of a battle they had no choice but
07:41to fight.
07:41Hopefully, they are used to situations like this and know what they need to do.
07:45While the pirates were showering them with RPG fire, the crew made a dosa-do on the deck with Molotov
07:50cocktails.
07:51They fought back using a water cannon and even beer bottles,
07:55turning anything they could into a weapon just to fight back.
07:58The exchange of gunfire and tactical maneuvers lasted a long time,
08:01but a few hours after the chaos began, the Malaysian military arrived.
08:05They immediately opened fire on the pirates,
08:08who had no choice but to run and save themselves by retreating quickly.
08:12In the end, even though the pirates were heavily armed, they were defeated.
08:16None of the crew were harmed.
08:17The entire ship was saved.
08:20A very clean victory for Genua 4.
08:33Operation Dawn 8 was a military rescue mission carried out by the Royal Malaysian Navy
08:38against Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on January 20, 2011.
08:43On that day, 18 Somali pirates decided to hijack the MB Bunga Laurel,
08:49a chemical tanker owned by Panama registered in Japan and operated by Malaysia.
08:55Inside it were almost $10 million worth of lubricating oil and ethylene dichloride.
09:00Around the same day, 600 kilometers from Oman, the pirates tried to board the ship.
09:06Seven pirates, armed with AK-47s and pistols, boarded the tanker using speedboats.
09:12They fired warning shots to scare the crew,
09:14and even though the people on the ship were frightened, they did not surrender.
09:1823 crew members quickly activated the ship's security alert system,
09:22then hid in a secured safety compartment near the engine room.
09:26When the alarm system was activated, all the lights went out,
09:29the main engine was shut down, and the ship became almost invisible at sea.
09:33The only thing the crew could do was wait for help.
09:36The Malaysian ship protection team immediately responded to the mayday
09:39and deployed a Fennec attack helicopter and 14 Navy special forces aboard two fast boats.
09:45They spent the whole night searching for the ship, which was hard to find because all the lights were off.
09:50But when they finally located it, they didn't waste any time.
09:53From the helicopter, they fired a 20-millimeter machine gun at the upper deck to scare off the pirates.
09:59At the same time, 14 special forces boarded,
10:02and there was an intense firefight against the seven pirates.
10:06Three of the pirates were hit, and all seven were captured.
10:09The authorities confiscated their weapons, such as several AK-47s, some modified AKMs,
10:15and Soviet-made pistols.
10:17The ages of the pirates ranged from 15 to 35,
10:20and not a single one of them had any form of ID.
10:23They were brought to the hospital for a medical checkup,
10:25and then transferred to the Bukit Jalil Detention Center.
10:29And after obtaining the seven-day remand order, the case was started.
10:33Under Malaysian law, they could be sentenced to death for attempted piracy.
10:37But in the end, the verdict was that four pirates received four years of imprisonment,
10:42and the other three were sentenced to seven years in prison, including the minor.
10:46And this was a clear and swift operation that saved the ship and all the crew.
10:54Number 4. NATO stops pirate attack on Norwegian ship
11:01On April 18, 2009, a group of Somali pirates mistakenly attacked the Norwegian tanker MB Front Arden
11:09in the Gulf of Aden, and quickly realized they had made a mistake.
11:13When the crew looked out and saw the pirates' speedboats approaching,
11:17they immediately sent out a mayday.
11:19Fortunately, the British Navy vessel RFA Wave Night was nearby,
11:23and they didn't waste any time chasing after the small boat full of pirates.
11:28The chase lasted for several hours,
11:30and just when the pirates thought the British were giving up,
11:34reinforcements arrived.
11:35The HMCS Winnipeg from Canada,
11:38and the USS Halley Halliburton from the United States.
11:41There was a full NATO chase as the pirates desperately headed back
11:45to the port of Bosaso in Somalia.
11:47They almost had a chance to escape, but suddenly, the NATO vessel fired a warning shot.
11:52When they heard the bullets whizzing through the air near them,
11:54the pirates were forced to stop and surrender.
11:57This happened after a seven-hour chase.
12:00When the Canadian military boarded their boat,
12:03they found a rocket-propelled grenade,
12:05various high-powered weapons,
12:07and a lot of arms that the pirates had thrown into the sea while fleeing.
12:12But in the end, the Canadian forces found out that they had no legal authority to arrest the pirates.
12:18So even though all the evidence was complete,
12:20and after a seven-hour chase,
12:22they were forced to release the pirates.
12:23A very strong, anti-climactic ending.
12:27But that's sometimes how maritime law works.
12:33Number 3. Dutch Marines Free Iranian Fishing Vessel
12:41In April 2011-18,
12:44Somali pirates tried to seize an Iranian fishing boat near the coast of Somalia,
12:49not knowing it would lead to a brutal encounter.
12:52As the pirates approached,
12:54the fishermen immediately noticed them and sent out a mayday.
12:57But even though people in the area were used to waiting a long time for help to arrive,
13:01everyone was surprised at how fast the response was.
13:04The Dutch Navy ship, HMS Strom,
13:06arrived immediately and without hesitation.
13:09They launched two rigged inflatable speedboats to intercept the pirates.
13:13But the Somali pirates were determined to seize the ship,
13:16and they were the ones who attacked the approaching Dutch boat first.
13:20And that was a big mistake.
13:22The Dutch Marines launched a counterattack,
13:24and this is where the intense firefight between the pirates and the soldiers began.
13:29In the midst of the chaos,
13:31the Dutch Marines regained control of the fishing vessel
13:33and captured six pirates.
13:35Meanwhile, ten others tried to escape using a speedboat,
13:38but they were also chased down and arrested.
13:41Unfortunately, not all of the 18 pirates survived to face justice.
13:45Two were killed in the crossfire.
13:47According to Marlos Beezer of the Dutch Defense Ministry,
13:51they couldn't bring the bodies of the two dead pirates inside the ship because of the extreme heat,
13:56so they temporarily left them in the water while helping the other captives.
14:00Upon reaching land,
14:02the injured pirates were immediately given medical treatment.
14:05But at that point,
14:06it was still unclear where or how they would be tried.
14:17On March 13, 2017,
14:20a group of Somali pirates successfully hijacked a chemical tanker registered in Corus.
14:26This was the very first successful hijacking of a large commercial vessel since 2012.
14:31The pirates used two speedboats to approach the Ares 13 and quickly took over the ship.
14:37Although the crew managed to send a mayday,
14:39the pirates were able to disable the ship's tracking system,
14:43anchor it in the middle of the sea,
14:45and stay there for three days.
14:47On March 16,
14:49there was an intense exchange between the pirates and the Puntlak Puntlad Maritime Police Force,
14:54following lengthy negotiations with the local gang elders and the pirates.
14:59You might assume they demanded a large ransom,
15:02which was the plan,
15:02but they ultimately refused to accept it.
15:06Because they found out that the Ares 13 was chartered by a Somali businessman,
15:10and it wasn't because the pirates were patriotic,
15:13but because a deal had been made with a powerful businessman in Somalia.
15:17Eventually, it was discovered that the Ares 13
15:19did not follow the industry's best management practices,
15:23one of the most important rules,
15:25which is to avoid traveling close to the shore and moving slowly,
15:28because this makes the ship more vulnerable to hijacking.
15:31This is a clear example of how pirates succeed
15:34when there is a combination of a ship's weakness
15:37and a well-executed plan on their side.
15:43Number 1. SS Irene
15:49Even though this happened in 1927,
15:51this incident is still one of the most unusual pirate attacks in history,
15:56not only because the ship was hijacked by pirates,
15:59but also because of the way the British Navy resolved the situation.
16:02The ship SS Irene,
16:04owned by the China Merchant Steam Navigation Company,
16:07was hijacked by pirates on October 19, 1927.
16:11The Royal Navy immediately deployed anti-piracy forces,
16:16and this was no ordinary ship,
16:18because two submarines from the Hong Kong fleet were sent.
16:20After a difficult search,
16:22the submarine found the ship the day after it was hijacked.
16:25A crew member of the submarine spotted 18 pirates armed with automatic pistols,
16:30and since it was still early,
16:32the L-4 submarine surfaced with one crew member on the 102-millimeter deck gun
16:36and another on the searchlight.
16:38Lieutenant Halahan knew that torpedoes couldn't be used for the recapture,
16:42so he prepared the deck gun.
16:44They first fired a blank warning shot, but the pirates ignored it.
16:48Because of this, they fired a live round,
16:50which pierced the ship and killed a pirate on the deck.
16:54The pirates still didn't surrender and continued sailing toward the shore,
16:58which made Halahan even angrier.
17:00The exchange of fire with the deck gun continued,
17:03while the L-5 submarine prepared its position to join in.
17:06They noticed that the Irene was already lowering a lifeboat,
17:09so the submarines prepared their own rescue boats,
17:12with one officer and one sailor assigned to each boat to board the ship.
17:15The pirates on the ship were ready to attack.
17:18They waited for the British to come closer
17:21before launching their attack from their hiding spots.
17:23But even when the attack began, they didn't kill anyone.
17:26The only one who was hurt was Lieutenant Halahan,
17:29who was being careful to save everyone's lives.
17:32And to continue the operation,
17:33the submarines circled around and attacked again using their deck gun.
17:37And after a few more shots hit a flammable cargo on the Irene,
17:41the ship exploded, lighting up the entire sea.
17:45Fortunately, most of the 258 passengers of the Irene were rescued,
17:49but 14 of them were never seen again.
17:52The survivors were brought to the submarine and safely taken to shore.
17:55The British were also helped to put out the fire,
17:58but because so much water was poured in,
18:00the Irene sank the next day.
18:02During the rescue, the Hong Kong police noticed that some pirates tried to hide among the hostages,
18:07and seven of them were captured by the L-5 submarine.
18:11And in the end, 17 Chinese pirates were convicted of piracy and executed in Hong Kong.
18:16The owner of the Irene tried to sue Lieutenant Halahan,
18:19but he won the case because a naval commander has the authority to attack or burn a ship controlled by
18:26pirates.
18:26The Irene remained partly underwater, but eventually it was salvaged and returned to service.
18:32And this is another reason why you shouldn't mess with the British Navy.
18:35They've controlled the seas for centuries, and they know what they're doing.
18:39And although piracy has decreased in modern times,
18:42incidents like this still happen, especially in Somalia, due to the lack of a central government.
18:51These are just some of the 10 Somali pirates who picked the wrong enemy.
18:55If you enjoyed the video, hit the like button and subscribe to our channel,
18:59so you'll always be updated on our upcoming videos.
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