9/5/2013 - Reuters: "Amateur Video Shows Two Men Firing RPGs at Ship Transiting Suez"

A follow-up to 8/28/2013 - Unconfirmed rumors: "Egypt wants to close the Suez Canal to U.S. ships bound for Syria

Item


Amateur video shows two men firing RPGs at ship transiting Suez

Sept. 5 - Internet video purports to show two militants firing rocket-propelled grenades at a container ship as it passes through the Suez Canal in the eastern Sinai. Mana Rabiee reports.

The images are grainy. But this video circulating the Internet claims to show two militants firing rocket-propelled grenades at a passing container ship in Egypt's Suez Canal. Reuters cannot verify the video. But on Saturday canal authorities said terrorists had staged just such an attack to disrupt this critical global waterway.

Source: Reuters
www.reuters.com...

The skeptic in me wants to talk.

It is funny that it's Reuters video -> Reuters logo in low-left corner, ALL Grainy. They've added their watermark to the video, i get it, but the thing i don't get is why the video is 240p and grainy as hell. IMO it's very likely that it's intentional. The original video sent to Reuters has not been so grainy, imo.

Also, the RPG blasts... I've seen many real occasions when RPG hits, and that blast on the video looked just fake to me. The grain...

...and i would expect the projectile to penetrate the container like a cheese.

I call BS or partial BS.

I'm also not quite convinced, the video seems odd. I think the RPG sound made a very out of place sound. But then again, I know **** about weapons so.

Interesting none the less.

reply to post by menneni


reply to post by Senduko



Farther down in the text accompanying the video the report states:

Egyptian authorities are confident the attack was random and say three people have since been arrested.
www.reuters.com...

So I'm assuming it was a real attack for now.

reply to post by menneni


The explosion does look...odd, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the ship, not even a darkening of the hull. And yeah, I would expect the grenade to penetrate it like butter, maybe this is why there's no obvious external damage?

Originally posted by AlphaHawk
reply to post by menneni

 

The explosion does look...odd, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the ship, not even a darkening of the hull. And yeah, I would expect the grenade to penetrate it like butter, maybe this is why there's no obvious external damage?

Yeah what alpha said .. Couldn't agree more. The explosions seem a bit iffy to me

Remember ....... It's an RPG - rocket propelled grenade !

A grenade on a rocket............a grenade will not penetrate that steel

But also consider there is more than one type on RPG warhead ( anti personnel / anti armour/HEAT/ thermobaric etc )

And then container ship hull thickness ( this varies depending on size and can be considered secret for some ) but work on about 2 cm of steel

Standard RPG rounds would just pop on the surface with maybe a scorch mark

Additional Source:

Cosco Asia ‘struck by RPG’
sinoshipnews.com...

Alexandria: The head of American security firm, Nexus Consulting, has said the Cosco Asia, which came under attack over the weekend while transiting the Suez Canal, was hit by an RPG fired from the shoreline which hit a container on the top tier of the giant ship and damaged the hatch nearest the accommodation block. Machine gun fire was also reported.
“We don't expect to see either an increase in volume or intensity of attacks, and though this is most likely an isolated incident, not specifically targeting a ship or ships in general, the canal can expect to see greater risk of collateral damage from conflicts in and around Egypt,” said Kevin Doherty, Nexus’s president.
The attack took place on Saturday on the eastern side of the canal at El-Sharqiya as the ship was transiting northbound. Doherty’s RPG claim comes, he said, from quotes given by the master of the Cosco Asia, which docked at Port Said.
sinoshipnews.com...

That looked like a COSCO logo on the ship, which makes it China, not American shipping. That would mean either the terrorist don't know what to shoot at or they are just shooting at any ship.

reply to post by roadgravel


"Cosco Asia". You are correct. See the post above yours.

reply to post by roadgravel


Considering that their goal is probably to close down the Canal or at least hinder operations, they can fire at a ship of any nationality to reach that goal. The problems in Egypt are to a large extent internal, with external powers supporting different factions inside the country. This attack is likely not aimed at the Americans, but at the Egyptian military government.

Most likely this is either a warning, or a very amateur attempt at achieving this goal.

reply to post by fedeykin

I was reacting to the Idea that Egypt seemed to think US ships would cause trouble. But this shows a different case. Looks a bit like Egypt wants to blame the US if the canal closes when that's not the case. I find it hard to believe they really want the canal closed.

More corroboration:

Cosco Asia RPG hit confirmed

Wednesday 04 September 2013, 11:09

COSCO Asia was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in an attempted terrorist attack this week.Lloyd’s Agents have confirmed the Suez Canal Authority’s initial line that Cosco Asia was the victim of an attempted terrorist attack. It is understood the RPG hit a container...


www.lloydslist.com...

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are
A follow-up to 8/28/2013 - Unconfirmed rumors: "Egypt wants to close the Suez Canal to U.S. ships bound for Syria

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

Carter Doctrine

Does this constitute "vital interests"?

Originally posted by roadgravel
That looked like a COSCO logo on the ship, which makes it China, not American shipping. That would mean either the terrorist don't know what to shoot at or they are just shooting at any ship.

Or they support Tibet


Could happen

So, the video shows some guys firing RPGs at a large container ship. Then it shows damaged buildings, suggesting they missed! Not very good shots!

On a serious note. Closure of the Suez Canal would be a terrorist’s wet dream. Just the type of thing that will help provide more misery to Egyptians trying to survive poor economic times and social termoil. These Islamists seem to benefit from human misery, which is why they like to cause it.

Regards

In related news:

Egypt army attacks Sinai Islamists as militancy spreads
Reuters.com
By Shadia Nasralla
CAIRO | Sat Sep 7, 2013 8:18pm EDT

(Reuters) - The Egyptian army launched an attack against Islamist militants in North Sinai on Saturday, killing at least nine people, security officials said.

Two Egyptian soldiers were killed late on Saturday when an improvised explosive device detonated in a road in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid near the border with the Gaza Strip, security sources said.

Radical Islamists in the rugged desert region adjoining Israel, who expanded into a security vacuum left by the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, have been staging almost daily assaults on security forces and other targets.

Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles backed by attack helicopters were used earlier in Saturday's operation near Sheikh Zuweid, a few kilometres (miles) from the Palestinian Gaza Strip, security sources said.

The army said nine militants had been arrested.

Since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3, and especially since security forces killed hundreds of Islamists when they smashed protest camps in Cairo on August 14, there have been online calls from Islamist radicals for wider attacks on the state.

www.reuters.com...

The article goes on to state:

A week ago, militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a ship passing through the Suez Canal on the Sinai's western edge, vital to world trade as well as Egypt's depleted state finances.

On Saturday, a bomb exploded at a Cairo police station for the second time in less than a week, state media said, although no one was hurt.

In addition, explosives were found on the railway line between the cities of Suez and Ismailia along the Suez Canal, but defused before they could do damage, according to the state news agency MENA.

www.reuters.com...