Here's the excerpt from the weekly report (referenced above) about the Oceania Nautica Cruise Ship:
30.11.2008: 0528 UTC: Posn: 14:02.7N – 049:43.7E, Gulf of Aden.
Two pirate boats with three pirates in each boat attempted to intercept a passenger ship underway. Master sighted a gun on the second boat and later the pirates fired upon the ship. Master increased speed and the pirate boats were unable to follow the ship and aborted the attempt. UKMTO Dubai was informed.
Tues., Dec. 16, 2008
UNITED NATIONS - On the same day Somali pirates hijacked two more ships, the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized nations to go ashore in Somalia to fight piracy over the next year.
. . . said the resolution will have a significant impact, especially since "pirates are adapting to the naval presence in the Gulf of Aden by traveling further" into sea lanes not guarded by warships . . .
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. . . The council authorized nations to use "all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to stop anyone using Somali territory to plan or carry out piracy in the nearby waters . . .
. . . Somalia Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Jama, whose government asked for the help, said he was "heartened" by the council action.
. . . Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters that it is difficult to identify pirates and that the potential for killing innocent civilians "cannot be overestimated."
. . . An international flotilla has tried to patrol Somalia's coast, but still the pirates outmaneuver the warships. . .
PORTLAND, Maine — With an alarming number of tankers and cargo ships getting hijacked on the high seas, the nation's maritime academies are offering more training to merchant seamen in how to fend off attacks from pirates armed not with cutlasses and flintlocks but automatic weapons and grenade launchers.
Colleges are teaching students to fishtail their vessels at high speed, drive off intruders with high-pressure water hoses and illuminate their decks with floodlights.
LATER ON, in the same article -
The International Maritime Bureau reported 293 piracy incidents in 2008, an increase of 11 percent from the year before. Forty-nine vessels were hijacked, and 889 crew members were taken hostage. Eleven were killed and 21 reported missing and presumed dead, according to the bureau.
Piracy hotspots have been identified off East Africa and in Southeast Asia, South America and the Caribbean.
The MV Chemstar Venus, owned by a Japanese shipping company and registered in Panama, was seized by armed Somali gunmen on Nov. 15 in the Gulf of Aden. On board were five South Koreans and 18 Filipinos. The diplomat, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the ship carrying unidentified chemicals was released Thursday night. There was no immediate word if a ransom was paid.
FAiNA UPDATE
In the aftermath of what was one of the most dramatic pirate heists, Ukrainian sailors returned home after four months in captivity after the seizure of their cargo ship, MV Faina, which was loaded with tanks and heavy weapons. The sailors stepped off a plane in Kiev, tanned but exhausted-looking for a tearful reunion with their families on the tarmac.
Faina's ordeal began in September, when scores of heavily armed Somali pirates swarmed onboard as it carried 33 Soviet-designed tanks and crates of small arms headed to Kenya. The pirates released the vessel last week, reportedly after receiving a $3.2 million ransom.
The Faina, with its cargo, docked on Thursday at the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
GENEVA — Six African migrants drowned and 11 more are presumed dead after smugglers in the Gulf of Aden forced their passengers overboard in deep water off Yemen, the U.N. refugee agency reported Tuesday.
A smuggling boat was carrying 40 Somalis and 12 Ethiopians when it approached Yemen's coast on Friday, said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. But smugglers noticed Yemeni police onshore and panicked, forcing the passengers overboard in deep water, he said.
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Real Life Pirate Attacks on the Rise
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