Current Articles & News v.1

Here are links to current articles and new releases regarding the crisis of international hijacking by pirates (terrorists).

For A Price, Security Company Wards Off Pirates A former British army pilot recently launched a business called Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions. For $30,000, Nick Davis will arrange a team of three private guards to travel on a boat, and scare away potential pirates. He has teams right now on seven ships in the Gulf of Aden. (NPR, 11/20/2008)

U.S. Admiral: Ships Must Do More To Combat Piracy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, says even one of the most powerful conglomerations of ships in the world isn't enough to combat the pirates. "Where we are not is where you have these maritime criminals that we call pirates, [who] will eventually find a merchant ship that is taking no action, or ineffective actions, to prevent pirates from getting on board their vessels," he says. (NPR, 11/20/2008)


India 'sinks Somali pirate ship' An Indian navy warship has destroyed a suspected Somali pirate vessel after it came under attack in the Gulf of Aden. INS Tabar sank the pirate "mother ship" after it failed to stop for investigation and opened fire instead, an Indian navy statement said. (BBC, 11/19/2008)

Somalia attacks set to spur switch from Suez AP MOLLER-Maersk may be on the brink of ceasing to use the Suez Canal, instead choosing to reroute its ships via the Cape of Good Hope, thereby avoiding proximity to piracy-prone Somalia. A spokesman for Europe’s biggest shipowner told Lloyd’s List that a decision is expected shortly, possibly as early as tomorrow. The implications could be dramatic, both in terms of the resultant additional tonne-miles and increased transit times. Such a development would also be a bitter blow for Egypt, which depends on the Suez Canal as its second most important foreign currency earner after tourism. (Lloyd's List, 11/19/2008)

Somali pirates transform villages into boomtowns MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women, even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages. And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town. "The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Haradhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude was anchored Wednesday. These boomtowns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging this arid African country into chaos. But in northern coastal towns like Haradhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.(Yahoo News, 11/19/2008) [click on Google Earth map for closeup of Haradhere, Eyl and Boossaso]

Indian Navy destroys Somali pirate ship as hijackers demand $10m ransom for captured Saudi supertanker The Indian Navy has said that one of its warships in the Gulf of Aden has destroyed a pirate ship in the area. INS Tabar, an Indian frigate dispatched last month to the area to protect the country's merchant fleet, attacked the pirate 'mothership' when it refused to respond to warnings. Indian officers said they had seen pirates walking about on the large ship carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers.(DailyMail, 11/19/2008)

Somali pirates hijack Thai fishing boat, 16 crew NEW DELHI-Separate bands of pirates hijacked two ships and captured their crews, while yet another opened fire on an Indian navy ship before being driven off, clear signs that the brigands roaming the Gulf of Aden are becoming bolder and more violent, officials said Wednesday. A Thai ship with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo vessel with a crew of 25 were hijacked Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden, where Somalia-based pirates appear to be attacking ships at will, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia. The incidents raised to eight the number of ships hijacked this week alone. Since the beginning of the year, 39 ships have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, out of 95 attacked.(AP News-MyWay, 11/19/2008)

Pirates anchor hijacked supertanker off Somalia coast Saudi-owned crude oil carrier Sirius Star was captured by pirates 450 miles south-east of Mombasa, Kenya. The Sirius Star, which is fully loaded with crude oil, is understood to be at anchor close to a headland called Raas Cusbad, near Hobyo. The owner of the ship, Vela International Marine, said the 25 crew members on board were safe.(Guardian UK, 11/18/2008)

Pirate strikes off the African coast this year It is believed at least five Somali pirate gangs employing more than 1,000 gunmen are operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of east Africa. Between July and September, there were 47 attacks off Somalia's coast, and 26 were successful. But the attack on the Sirius Star shows the reach of the pirates now extends far beyond Somali waters. (Guardian UK, 11/18/2008)