[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 70 (Thursday, May 19, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3150-S3151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NAVY OPERATIONS OFF THE COAST OF SOMALIA

  Mr. KIRK. Madam President, I rise to commend the work of our Navy 
operating off the coast of Somalia.
  Over the weekend, the USS Stephen W. Groves encountered a pirate 
mothership, a captured Taiwanese fishing vessel, the Jih Chun Tsai. The 
pirates aboard exchanged fire with the Stephen W. Groves. Once the 
firefight ended, a boarding party found that the Taiwanese captain had 
been murdered along with three pirates. The crew of

[[Page S3151]]

the Groves captured 19 surviving pirates, but, unfortunately, by much 
higher command, was instructed to return them directly to Somalia.
  I recently visited the Groves, shortly after a previous engagement 
with the Jih Chun Tsai in April. I, personally, commend CDR Matthew 
Rick and his crew aboard the Stephen W. Groves for the work they have 
done fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Their actions over the 
weekend eliminated the pirate threat of one mothership, but, 
unfortunately, there are many more to take out.
  Also, on Monday, a helicopter from the USS Bulkeley responded to a 
distress call from the M/V Artemis Glory, a German-owned crude carrier. 
The helicopter crew from the Bulkeley saw the pirates firing on the 
merchant ship and returned fire, sinking the skiff and killing the four 
pirates aboard.
  Also, on Monday, the USS Bainbridge responded to a distress call from 
a cargo carrier, the MSC Ayala. After the crew of the Ayala repelled a 
pirate attack, the Bainbridge arrived and located the mothership 
responsible for the attack. The crew made contact with the pirates, who 
ultimately agreed to abandon the mothership they had hijacked just 4 
days before. Ironically, the skiff the pirates tried to flee in sank, 
and the pirates were rescued by the Bainbridge.
  I commend the men and women serving on the USS Stephen W. Groves, the 
USS Bulkeley, and the USS Bainbridge for jobs very well done. My hope 
in the future is that we can have far more robust rules of engagement, 
empowering Commander Rick and his fellow commanders to eliminate the 
threat of piracy.
  Of course, this mission would be in the highest traditions of the 
U.S. Navy and in the tradition of the Jefferson administration, which 
so ably handled this threat when it emerged in the early part of the 
19th century. My only hope is that, in the coming administration review 
by Secretary of State Clinton, she adopts a more Jeffersonian policy 
with regard to this threat, so the sealanes, which control 70 percent 
of the world's supply of oil, and so the ransoms, one-third of which 
are now being paid to terrorists who operate the largest terror 
training camps on Earth, can be eliminated.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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