The Suez Canal is one of the world's major waterways, and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia is the only sea route that cargo ships from various countries must pass through to enter and exit the Suez Canal.
As the civil war in Somalia continues, the educational and social systems have collapsed for many years.
There is no way the local people can survive!
As a result, under the pressure of survival, Somalia gave birth to a group of criminals who specialized in robbing ships of other countries at sea in order to survive——
Somali pirates!
With the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991, life for Somalis became more difficult, causing a large number of civilians to join the ranks of pirates to survive.
Somali piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden have begun to show explosive growth.
Because the cost of piracy is almost zero, as long as you succeed, you can basically get a lot of profits, and Somali pirates began to grow wildly.
From the beginning, there were three or five people doing their own thing, which evolved into the birth of four major pirate gangs——
They are the Puntland Guard, the National Volunteer Coast Guard, Melka and the Somali Sailors.
Pirates extort money from passing merchant ships from various countries every year, with the amount starting from a few thousand and rising to tens or millions over time.
There are even professional establishments and positions, and strict corporate management.
The robbery is more fierce and the success rate is higher.
This resulted in heavy losses to ships from various countries and had a negative impact on the international community.
As the only organization that can intervene, the United Nations knows that if it wants to destroy Somali pirates, it is meaningless to dispatch coast guard and obtain arrests by warships. Under the desire to survive and is about to starve to death, pirates will only continue to flow.
So in 1992, the United Nations decided to send peacekeeping troops to Somalia.
It mainly monitors ceasefires among various tribes and provides limited humanitarian assistance to Somali residents so that Somalis can ensure their basic needs.
This will not only demonstrate the role of the United Nations, but also cut off the birth of Somali pirates at the root and restore tranquility in the Gulf of Aden.
No one wants to risk their lives as a pirate if they can have a full meal safely.
After all, most pirates are cannon fodder. They may not even get a pension if they die during the kidnapping process. After all, only a few can live without worries and make a fortune.
pity.
Backfired.
The Black Hawk Down incident that occurred in 1993 shocked the whole world with the heavy casualties suffered by the US military, which made the US empire, the most powerful country in the world, lose face and withdraw from Somalia in despair.
The United Nations, which is led and supported by the US military, has completely given up on peacekeeping in Somalia.
Since then, it has withdrawn all peacekeeping troops, stopped all humanitarian aid to Somalia, and will never intervene in the vortex of Somalia again.
Somalia, which made the U.S. imperialists spit a sigh of relief, began to enter a self-destructive mode.
Pirates also began to grow crazily from that time. From the beginning, there were only dozens or hundreds of pirates, and it took less than ten years to grow to more than ten times.
The number of Somali pirates has expanded rapidly, and their weapons and equipment have also been greatly upgraded.
From the beginning, you have the standard civilian gangster style, using an oar to row a boat, a machete on your waist, and a hook to rob the ship.
Large ships of 10,000 tons and 100,000 tons cannot climb, so small cargo ships of only 1,000 tons are specially built.
Upgraded to today's high-speed speedboat pursuit, it comes standard with individual firepower of a fully automatic rifle, a large steel mesh that can jam paddles, paired intercoms for multi-ship coordination, and more.
The target has also been raised from 1,000 tons to 10,000 tons, or even giant cargo ships of 100,000 tons.
The ransom has soared to millions.
You can achieve wealth and freedom by doing one job, and live a comfortable life without worries about food and clothing. This attracts more people to join, and Somali pirates become more and more crazy.
No one can do anything about Somali pirates. The only thing the International Maritime Bureau can do is to list it as one of the most dangerous sea areas in the world.
Passing ships all heard the pirates' change of attitude, and they all tried their best to arm and defend themselves.
It is basic to carry a gun on board!
Those ships that are "timid" and dare not use guns will find ways to find professional people to escort them, so a new industry was born——
Escort bodyguard!
They boarded the ship from the Suez Canal to the Red Sea and disembarked from the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. They were protected by armed bodyguards throughout the entire journey.
It will cost tens of thousands of dollars in one or two days, and a ship of 100,000 tons will even cost more than 100,000 dollars.
Although this amount of money is indeed a lot, it is compared to the ransom of millions, and the possible danger to life if caught by pirates.
Most cargo ships will choose to spend money to eliminate disasters instead of taking risks to save money.
Against this harsh background, whether overtly or covertly, international organizations began to realize that it was imperative to form escort formations.
Our country also has corresponding plans to escort and protect our merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden.
Therefore, Jackie Chan and his party set sail on the Yangzhou frigate.
The speed of Yangzhou is far inferior to that of aircraft, even the fastest and more advanced Type 053H3 - NATO's Jiangwei II-class guided missile frigate.
The maximum speed is twenty-six knots, and the normal cruising speed is only fifteen knots.
It’s just over 300 nautical miles in one day.
The Yangzhou went down to the South China Sea, crossed the Strait of Malacca, crossed the Indian Ocean, and reached the Gulf of Aden and the waters of Somalia, a distance of 4,400 nautical miles.
Even if we keep spinning for a moment, it will take half a month to arrive.
There are no entertainment facilities on the warship. You can't even go for a run, and you can't stop to catch fish or swim for fun.
Life is really boring!
Fortunately, there is also a library on the warship, which is filled with all kinds of books. You can spend time reading books, or doing indoor fitness with nearby materials.
It does allow Jackie Chan, who has been busy for several years, to have time to calm down and read a book.
Xu Sanduo, Wu Zhe and others were also bored, so they could only follow Jackie Chan into the library and began to improve themselves semi-forcefully.
The library has become the exclusive use of Jackie Chan and others, and the small room is crowded with big men every day.
Shi Dafan, who has a relatively active personality, felt that the expedition team was too unpleasant to listen to while reading the book, and the sequel was not at all compelling.
I decided to give it a code name in high spirits.
I don’t know if it’s to please the captain Jackie Chan, or if I’m really convinced by Jackie Chan, or if it’s what Shi Dafan himself said.
As descendants of Yan and Huang, as descendants of the dragon, it is very appropriate for us to be nicknamed the Yan Dragon Team.
Jackie Chan doesn't have much obsession with the replacement number. He thinks that as long as it can be used, it will be fine. Just like the Bayi tank that Yuan Lang gave him, even if he doesn't think it is superior, he has not changed it over the years.
Others were very satisfied with this code name and readily accepted Shi Dafan's proposal.
Only Wu Liuyi expressed disapproval and believed that the Seahawk Commandos were more suitable. Unfortunately, they were ultimately unable to defeat the Descendants of the Dragon.
Yanlong has become the new code name!
In a blink of an eye.
More than ten days passed.
The Yangzhou crossed a distance of more than 4,000 kilometers and finally entered the sea off Somalia.
Although it is still nearly a hundred nautical miles away from the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, it is already within the scope of pirate activities, and situations are bound to arise at any time.
certainly.
Pirates would definitely not be so stupid as to run up and cause trouble when they see a warship.
It is said that as long as you enter this sea area, you may encounter a cargo ship attacked by pirates at any time and send a distress signal to the surrounding areas.
In the Yangzhou's mission list for this trip, actual combat operations are a must-have item.
If the distress signal can be received, the project can be completed in advance, and the schedule can be arranged flexibly in the following time.
Maybe it was some arrangement, or maybe it was just luck.
After the Yangzhou entered the sea off Somalia, it took less than half a day and was on its way to the Gulf of Aden when it received an emergency distress signal.
China Shipping Company's Antaishan cargo ship was attacked by armed pirates boarding the ship in the Gulf of Aden, requesting immediate emergency rescue.
The distress signal was very short, which showed that it was urgent at the time, and there was no further news.
The actual situation is...
Which country the cargo ship is registered in will be governed by the laws of that country. Our country strictly prohibits private individuals from carrying guns, and the Antai Mountain did not carry weapons.
These days, barbed wire and power grids have not yet been developed, and the biggest threat to Somali pirates is high-pressure water cannon.
But in the face of pirate bullets, water guns are too shabby.
Faced with the attack by armed pirates, and successfully boarded the cargo ship.
Under forced circumstances, in order to ensure the safety of himself and the crew, the captain had no choice but to give up defending the freighter and took all the crew into the safety cabin.
A distress signal was sent before hiding in, and then the power to the entire ship was cut off.
The cargo ship was unable to move, and the cabin was plunged into darkness. The pirates could not drive the ship away, and it was not easy to find the people.
These circumstances are not known to the outside world. All the information about the Yangzhou number adds up to one sentence——
There are Chinese ships that were attacked, as well as the corresponding coordinates.
Although piracy is rampant in Somalia, hundreds of ships are kidnapped every year.
On average, one ship takes two or three days.
But meeting him on his first day here really made everyone on the ship very excited, and they jumped into combat mode immediately.
Even though the distance was still three hundred nautical miles away, the Yangzhou immediately reported the situation.
The superiors almost did not hesitate, and quickly issued an order to the Yangzhou, asking it to immediately rush to the sea area where the incident occurred to carry out rescue work.
After receiving the action order, the captain of the Yangzhou - Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Xuebin, who was also an excellent captain, immediately issued two orders.
At the same time, he ordered the Yangzhou to speed up with full power and make sure to reach the scene of the incident in the shortest possible time.
While summoning the "Dragon Team" to the conference room, during the rush, they collected all the information and worked out the best research plan.
When Jackie Chan, Zhuang Yan and other eight people arrived at the Yangzhou conference room.
First-hand information is already in place.
The Yangzhou ship contacted the company of the Antaishan and learned from China Shipping Company that not long ago, pirates used the communication equipment on the ship to contact the company and demanded a ransom of US$1 million.
But when the company asked to speak to the crew first to make sure they were safe.
The pirate suddenly said nothing and turned off the satellite phone.
No further news.
According to the only news available so far, Captain Zhang Xuebing, political commissar and other top brass of the warship, as well as the special operations team represented by Jackie Chan, started discussions.
"When it comes to the safety of the crew, the pirates hang up the phone. Could it be that all the crew members were killed?" Political Commissar Xie Xuewu frowned and guessed.
This speculation made the atmosphere at the scene tense instantly.
"I don't think so."
Wu Zhe had a different view and analyzed: “According to my understanding of large freighters, the internal structure is very complex and has many cabins that are extremely strong.
It took some time for the pirates to climb onto the ship, and the people on the ship had enough time to react.
I think it is also possible that all the people on the ship have hid in the bottom cabin, or even in a relatively safe cabin.
The call was made shortly after the pirates boarded the ship, and it is possible that the crew was not found at all.
Therefore, when asked to call the crew, the pirates who could not take the hostages had no choice but to temporarily cut off the blackmail call and continue the blackmail after finding the crew. "
"Comrade Wu Zhe's analysis is very reasonable. This possibility is very high." Zhang Xuebing nodded and said.
"I'd like to add something more."
Jackie Chan continued: "The pirates have not continued to call China Shipping Company so far, which also proves a possibility.
That is, the pirates have not yet found the crew, or to put it another way, they have not yet controlled the crew.
From this, it can be basically judged that the crew is still safe. As long as the pirates have not notified the crew, the difficulty of research will not be too high.
In other words, the possibility of safe rescue is still high for us. "
Jackie Chan's analysis complemented Wu Zhe's and was more optimistic, which made the originally depressing atmosphere a lot more relaxed.
"I said……"
Shi Dafan came out and said abruptly: "Is it possible that the pirates did not catch the crew members immediately and were worried that someone would catch them, just like criminals, and they have escaped now?"
Shi Dafan is indeed a monkey-like guy, and his thinking angle is also unique.
"It shouldn't be possible. This is not a busy city. This is a pirate's den. Pirates will not be so timid in their own dens."
Zhuang Yan expressed a different opinion and said firmly: "In my opinion, the pirates are definitely still looking for crew members. The sooner we go, the more hope we have, so we must race against time to get there."
Lao Pao has always been relatively taciturn, and at this moment he rarely stood up and said: "I have studied ship blasting. The hulls of large 10,000-ton ships are very strong, and directional explosives may not be able to blast them in some places.
After all, pirates are just a group of robbers. They definitely don't know how to professionally blast, and they don't even bring explosives. At most, they just have an automatic rifle.
It is almost impossible to open a thick hatch with an automatic rifle.
At the maximum speed of the Yangzhou, we can reach the incident site in about 10 hours, and the possibility of safe rescue is still very high. "
Lao Pao analyzed the matter from a professional perspective as a demolitionist, making the whole matter clearer.
The team atmosphere is also more relaxed!
However, just at this juncture when the situation was good and Jackie Chan's chances of rescue were very high, someone jumped out and poured a basin of cold water.
"Optimism is a good thing, but on the bad side, we also have to prepare in advance to prevent being caught off guard."
Chengcai looked serious and said solemnly: "Anyone who is anxious will jump over the wall, let alone a group of gangsters who do all kinds of evil and are extremely vicious.
No matter what the current situation is, the first thing is certain.
That is, within ten hours, no matter how big the bottom of the 10,000-ton cargo ship is, the pirates will definitely be able to find the hiding place of the crew even if they search from room to room.
There is really no way to break open the metal hatch with a gun, but even the toughest turtle shell has its weaknesses.
Therefore, I believe we can successfully rescue, but the necessary preparations, such as medical preparations, must also be in place. "
(End of chapter)
