All in a day’s work for Thomas Orlowski may mean chasing pirates on the high seas.
Orlowski went to school and worked in Osoyoos from 1979 to 1995.
He is now a Leading Seaman working in the engine room on the Canadian battleship HMCS Winnipeg which is assigned to a NATO squadron of ships deployed to the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial ships.
On the evening of April 18, the five command ships from Canada, Portugal, Spain, Holland and the U.S. were escorting a ship filled with food destined as humanitarian aid for Somalia when the call came through that another ship, a tanker named the MV Front Ardenne, was under threat of being hijacked.
The Winnipeg was able to track and follow the pirate skiff after it fled from naval fire and a seven-hour chase ensued under cover of darkness.
When the Winnipeg was ready to engage the pirates, Orlowski experienced the encounter first-hand.
“I felt a rush of adrenalin,” Orlowski told the Osoyoos Times in a phone interview from the ship on April 22. “I usually work below the decks, but this time, I was up on deck where the action was.”
Sub Lieut. Michael McWhinnie, who is the officer in charge of public affairs for the ship, provided the Times with a colourful description of the action encountered as the ship out-maneuvered the Somali pirates.
“Imagine a 400-foot battleship giving chase in darkness to an open-board craft,” he said. “Then a helicopter is in the air shining spotlights, while a loudspeaker is playing a pre-recorded Somali message asking the boat to stop. Overhead there are flares while 50-calibre machine guns are shot over the bow as warning shots.
“These are big guns and they trail light across the sky like fireworks.”
The pirates were disarmed and the boat was boarded for a search.
Under international law, however, the Canadians could not hold the Somali hijackers because it was a Norwegian tanker that was attacked, not a Canadian vessel.
During the interview, Orlowski explained that it is all about doing a job you are trained to do, but when he could not answer several questions due to a possible conflict in national or military security, one is aware that the men serving on the Winnipeg are doing a job that may be exciting but they also work in an environment of danger.
McWhinnie explained that their mandate is to deter and dissuade piracy.
In 2008 there were more than 100 incidents of ships being attacked off the coast of Somalia.
By joining forces with other countries through NATO, it is easier to patrol the large coastline of Africa and protect the shipping lanes.
The Winnipeg has been on assignment there since early April.
“It is difficult because the pirates often disguise themselves as plain fishermen,” McWhinnie said. “This assignment is an international response to piracy. Over 20,000 ships a year pass through these shipping lanes. We need to keep the world’s trade routes safe. This directly affects Canada as well.
“If piracy continues, shipping rates climb – it affects insurance rates, and in the end, the cost of goods goes up.”
Orlowski’s parents Wally and Kristine, live in Osoyoos.
After hearing on the news that the Winnipeg was directly involved in the pirate chase, they were able to watch a video of the attack which the Canadian government released on YouTube.
Kristine told the Times that she recognized her son’s voice on the video.
“My God, is the world going backwards?” she said. “Piracy was something from 200 years ago! The situation has gotten totally out of hand.”
Orlowski now lives just outside of Victoria with his wife and four children.
He told the Times he likes the lifestyle he has chosen and is having the opportunity to experience many cultures in different parts of the world since joining the navy.
As a mother, Kristine worries about her son’s safety and does not like war.
But she realizes what a vital role he is playing in international security.
“He is doing what he is trained to do and we are very proud of him,” she said.
Nevertheless, whenever his mother says goodbye to her son she always says, “Don’t forget to duck!”
By Diane Zorn
Special to the Osoyoos Times
