Yesterday, the US Navy was able to get yet another ship freed from Pirates, who had siezed the Tiwanese fishing vessel off the coazt of Somalia. This was the fifth ship the Navy aided in the span of a single week.
While only one Cruise Ship has suffered a pirate attack, pirats are fequently attacking or seizing everything from fishing vessels to cargo ships and tankers. Waters off Somaila, on the East coast of Africa.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Maritime pirate attacks worldwide shot up 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007 from a year earlier, with Somalia and Nigeria showing the biggest increases, an international watchdog said Tuesday.
A total of 198 attacks on ships were reported between January and September this year, up from 174 in the same period in 2006, the IMB said.
It said a total of 15 vessels were hijacked, 63 crew kidnapped and three killed.
This article goes on to name Somalia, Nigeria, and Indonesia as the world's top piracy hot spots, with conditions in Indonesia improving some.
However, these attacks are steadily increasing off Somaila's coast, where pirates "operate with impunity" and are siezing vessels hundreds of miles off the coast.
In international law piracy is a crime, committed only on or over international waters, in places beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any nation. The key to the definition is the area of the crime, in international waters. Piracy, only takes place when the motive for the attack is financial gain. Technically, when the purpose of the attack is for political or religious gain, the term terrorism is used.
Pirate attacks tripled between 1993 and 2003. The first half of 2003 was the worst 6-month period on record, with 234 pirate attacks, 16 deaths, and 52 people injured worldwide. There were also 193 crew members held hostage during this period. 182 cases of piracy were reported worldwide in the first 6 months of 2004. Of these incidents, 50 occurred in Indonesian waters.
Piracy Warnings 2007
Africa and Red Sea
Gulf of Aden / Southern Red Sea
Somalian waters - eastern and northeastern coasts are high-risk areas for hijackings. Ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay away from the coast.
West Africa
Abidjan
Conakry
Dakar
Douala
Freetown
Lagos
Tema
Warri
South and Central America and the Caribbean waters
By AFP
Pirates boarded a French luxury cruise yacht off the coast of Somalia and took its entire crew hostage on Friday, a French military spokesman said.
The yacht, the Ponant, "was the victim of an act of piracy early this afternoon as it was sailing between Somalia and Yemen," spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.
The 850-tonne three-masted yacht was carrying around 30 crew but had no passengers on board at the time, Prazuck said.
"As far as we know, no shots have been fired," he said.
French military forces and a US-led task force, both present in the area, "were able to confirm the situation and are following its evolution," he added.
France has a patrol aircraft based in Djibouti, as well a dispatch boat.
French cruise operator CMA-CGM confirmed one of its boats had been seized in the Gulf of Aden, on its way from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean, and that "the majority" of its crew were French nationals.
"The ship is indeed the Ponant, property of the CMA-CGM group. We were informed that there were pirates on board," a company spokesman said.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office said the government had launched a piracy alert plan.
The foreign ministry said it had made contact with the ship's owner and was trying to reach the crew's relatives.
The 32-cabin Ponant, fully equipped with lounges, bar and restaurant, is one of three operated by the Marseille-based firm, which describes itself as France's leading cruise provider.
With a capacity for 64 passengers, it offers several cruises in the Gulf region, including between Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan, and off the coast of Oman, according to the company's website.
Pirate attacks are frequent off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors to steer clear.
The French navy was called on in recent months to escort World Food Programme boats through Somali waters, after two of the agency's boats were stolen.
Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts. The ordinance was ordered by the Kenyan government.
Somali pirates demand $35 million ransom for ship
Reuters
Saturday, September 27, 2008; 4:38 PM
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali pirates demanded a $35 million ransom on Saturday for a Ukrainian ship they seized carrying 33 tanks and other military supplies to Kenya, a maritime official said.
"The gunmen are demanding $35 million to release the MV Faina and her crew," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
Kenya's military said they had not made contact with the Somali pirates holding the ship, local media reported.
The 21 crew members aboard the ship include 17 Ukrainians, Russians and Latvians.
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