In addition to hijacking ships, the Somali Pirates are also very effective at PR and have vowed to help Haiti by distributing millions of dollars to the island nation using some of their recent spoils. |AOLNews|
In case you missed it, Somali pirates yesterdays attacked the Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months, only to be thwarted by armed gunmen on board the ship. Now, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “When will the vicious scourge of Somali piracy ever end?” Well, fear not Sparky, because Nicolas Cage is in Africa right now trying to put an end to all this. Yes, that Nicolas Cage! Read more »
So that British sailing couple that blogged their every move and were kidnapped by Somali sea criminals last week? According to CNN’s “pirate source,” they’ve been taken off their sailboat and “moved to a hijacked Spanish ship” that is equipped with more supplies and buccaneers. Fun. |CNN|
Somali pirates took responsibility for the hijacking of a British couple who were on a sailing tour in the Indian Ocean reports ITN. Paul and Rachel Chandler were reportedly on their way to Tanzania from the soon to be drone patrolled Seychelles when the “sea criminals” commandeered their 38-foot sailboat, the Lynn Rival. They often posted photos and details of their travels on this blog and the last entry eerily reads: “PLEASE RING SARAH.” Read more »
The Republic of Seychelles announced that the U.S. is providing drones to help fight against the ever vigilant Somali pirates, who have been very busy as of late. Although the country’s foreign ministry won’t divulge when or how many UAVs they received, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command said they’ll have the resources to fly at least one sortie daily over the more than 100 islands that make up the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. But unlike their super deadly counterparts in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc., these Skynet-style robopilots won’t be armed. |MSN|
The Somali pirates have struck again, hijacking a Spanish tuna ship on Friday. While some would argue they’re heroes and protectors of fish, others don’t see it quite the same way and authorities have decided to make matters much much worse. Two pirates allegedly involved in the raid are being extradited to Spain and charged, all while there’s still 36 crew members on board, quite possibly making this the worst hostage negotiation strategy ever. |AP|
A ship from North Korean wasn’t having any of that Somali buccaneer shit and repelled an attempted hijacking by pirates earlier this month. But they didn’t use guns, instead, “crew members fought back with molotov cocktails and sped away,” which was probably smart a move since the pirates started firing back with “rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.” |AP|
Pirates off the coast of Somalia attacked US military aircraft for the first time yesterday. The Somali pirates opened fire, missing completely, as a Navy helicopter surveyed their hijacked Taiwanese ship being used to launch attacks on other vessels. Watch the “large caliber weapon” shootout after the jump. Read more »
Tyco Telecommunications recently filed a suit in Manhattan federal court against K&M Global Security Solutions, for being morons, but specifically for failing to protect their cable-laying ships. The vessels were operating off the Horn of Africa and headed for the coast of Somalia. Worried about events surrounding the Maersk Alabama, and promises by Somali pirates to take revenge on ships flying the American flag, the company hired the anti-piracy firm for $1 million. Bad idea. According to the complaint they were total amateurs. What went wrong? Everything! Read more »
Judging by the amount of ships they’ve been steadily commandeering and the dozen or so they’re still holding, it’s hard to believe that Somali pirates are deterred by weather. Still, the U.S. Navy is concerned there could be increased attacks now that monsoon season is ending and issued a warning. |AP|
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