pirates

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Pirates Seize 21 Americans on Cargo Ship off Somalia

Sixth ship seizure in a week; first with all-American crew

(Newser) - After a sustained 5-hour attack off the coast of northern Somalia overnight, pirates have hijacked a US-flagged cargo ship with 21 crew members aboard, the BBC reports. A Kenya-based diplomat identified the vessel as the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama, reports the AP, and said all the crew members are American....

Somali Pirates on Hijacking Spree, Capture 5 Ships

Somali pirates moving further afield to dodge naval patrols

(Newser) - Somali pirates operating in the Indian ocean are on a hijacking binge, reports the BBC, capturing 5 vessels since Saturday, including a British cargo ship this morning in the Gulf of Aden. AFP reports. The pirates are venturing further afield to avoid the increased international naval presence in the Gulf...

Sailor's Widow Stunned She Survived Pirate Attack

Victim made gestures asking if pirates planned to kill her

(Newser) - A British grandmother was trussed "naked like a chicken" in her sailboat cabin while pirates beat her husband with hammers and slit his throat off the coast of Thailand, she told the Times of London. Three men "tied and gagged me, then went toward the forward cabin,"...

Pirates Kill Brit Yachtsman
 Pirates Kill Brit Yachtsman 
Mar 25, 2009 3:48 AM CDT

Pirates Kill Brit Yachtsman

Wife hears sounds of a scuffle, then silence

(Newser) - A British yachtsman was killed off the coast of Thailand by three fisherman-pirates who locked his wife in the cabin, reports the Times of London. The body of the vacationing 64-year-old businessman was not found, but police believe he was thrown overboard after his throat was cut. His wife managed...

Pirates Target Brit Cruise Ship

US Navy comes to rescue after suspicious craft approach liner in dangerous waters

(Newser) - Frightened British cruise ship passengers were herded below decks in a chilling encounter with Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Sun reports. The crew sent up flares and fashioned fake guns out of wood to appear to be armed when they spotted two suspicious small craft speeding toward...

US Navy Arrests 7 Suspected Pirates

(Newser) - The US Navy today let pirates around the Horn of Africa know that there's a new sheriff in town. A Navy vessel arrested seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after they attempted to board a commercial tanker, CNN reports. The arrests are the first by a US-led international...

Somali Pirates Score $3.2M Ransom, Release Arms Ship

Pirates receive $3.2M ransom after September hijacking

(Newser) - Crime does pay—to the tune of the $3.2 million ransom that Somali pirates collected today in exchange for releasing a Ukrainian ship they hijacked in September, reports the BBC. The pirates had initially sought $20 million for the arms-laden MV Faina, which had been en route to Kenya....

Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama
Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama
Jan 31, 2009 5:08 AM CST

Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama

Seizure of ship by Somali pirates started 56 days of negotiations

(Newser) - It took 56 days of tense negotiations to free the MV Biscaglia and its 28 crew members from the clutches of Somali pirates, shipping exec George Christodolou tells the Wall Street Journal. After the vessel was seized in the Gulf of Aden, Christodolou had to scramble to gain the pirates'...

Somali Pirates Hijack Another Tanker, Crew of 13

Dozen crew members include Filipinos and an Indonesian

(Newser) - Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker and its crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian. The cargo the Longchamp is carrying is unknown. Though the Gulf of Aden is now patrolled by more than a dozen warships from countries including Britain, France, Germany, Iran, and the US, they were not...

UK Journo Recounts 40 Days With Somali Captors

40 uncertain days spent in caves, mountains

(Newser) - On assignment covering Somali pirates, Daily Telegraph reporter Colin Freeman and his photographer were kidnapped by their own bodyguards and carted off to a barren mountain range. For 40 days, Freeman clung to his good humor as he tried to befriend his mercurial captors. “The more you come across...

5 Somali Pirates Drown With Ransom Share

Tanker released after $3M airdrop, but pirate boat flips in storm

(Newser) - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker yesterday drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, the AP reports. The boat, with eight people on board, overturned in a storm; three people reached shore after swimming for several...

Pirates Free Saudi Tanker, Get $3M Ransom

Ship headed to safety after November capture

(Newser) - A Saudi tanker taken by Somali pirates in November has been freed after a $3 million ransom was paid, a pirate negotiator said. Pirates have left the ship, which is now headed to safety. The Sirius Star, which carried 2 million oil barrels and 25 crew members, was the largest...

French Frigate Foils Attack, Captures Pirates

Nabs dastardly robbers

(Newser) - A French warship nabbed a boat full of pirates in the Gulf of Aden today, responding to a distress call from a Panamanian vessel, Reuters reports. The pirates fled when they saw the French ship approach, but they later returned to try their luck with the ship again, and the...

Rivals Wary of China's New Sea Power

(Newser) - China's decision to flex its burgeoning naval muscles by sending two warships to patrol Somalia's pirate-infested waters has been met with equal parts thanks and worry from the international community, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The mission is China’s first outside of its own waters, and many are wondering...

Chinese Set Sail to Join Fight Against Piracy

First time warships have left home waters in centuries

(Newser) - Chinese warships are leaving home waters today for the first time in centuries, heading to the Gulf of Aden on an anti-piracy mission, CNN reports. Two destroyers and a supply ship are setting out to protect Chinese vessels in response to soaring pirate attacks off Somalia. The warships will join...

Pirate Hostages Brace for Christmas at Sea

More than 260 remain off Somalia's coast in 14 hijacked vessels

(Newser) - More than 260 hostages will spend Christmas with pirates off Somalia’s coast, CNN reports. At least 14 vessels remain in pirate custody as a tumultuous year—with nearly 100 attacks on cargo ships, oil tankers, and yachts—nears its end. The EU, China, and Iran have stationed naval vessels...

China May Launch Pirate Patrol
 China May Launch Pirate Patrol 
Dec 18, 2008 2:09 AM CST

China May Launch Pirate Patrol

Officials weigh Chinese naval mission in 500 years

(Newser) - China is poised to embark on its first naval combat mission in 500 years—to take on pirates off the coast of Somalia, reports the Financial Times. Any patrols launched would be closely monitored by the US, Russian and British navies, concerned about China's growing  military power. 

Pirates Step Up Attacks After UN OKs More Force

Security Council says foreign forces can pursue Somali miscreants onto land

(Newser) - Pirates attacked more vessels off the coast of Somalia today despite a UN Security Council decision green-lighting foreign military forces to pursue them on land, reports the BBC. Four ships were attacked, and three—a tugboat, merchant ship, and private yacht—were being held by the pirates. A Chinese ship...

Indian Navy Seizes 23 Pirates, Arms, and Ammo

Pirates off Somali coast have grown brazen, upped attacks

(Newser) - The Indian navy has arrested 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who tried to capture an Ethiopian merchant vessel off the Somali coast, CNN reports. Officials, whose helicopter sent the pirates scurrying for cover today, also recovered seven AK-47 automatic rifles, rockets, grenade launchers, and a GPS receiver. Pirates have attacked...

Tired of Pirate Attacks? Time to Call Blackwater

US forces aren't coming, Shippers need to hire their own army

(Newser) - Somali hijackers have free rein around the Horn of Africa, and neither the US nor any other nation has a prayer of stopping them with their ineffectual patrols. What to do? Call in the troops—or, more precisely, the fomer troops, writes Peter Hannaford in the American Spectator. Namely, Blackwater....

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