The British Royal Navy has found the yacht belonging to a British couple missing in the Indian Ocean since last week, but the yacht was empty, the British Ministry of Defence said Thursday.
A ministry spokesman said it appeared the couple, who are feared kidnapped by pirates, had been transferred to another vessel.
"There's nothing to indicate that they've been harmed," said the spokesman, who asked not to be named in line with policy.
The yacht was found in international waters, but the spokesman refused to give a more exact location.
Paul and Rachel Chandler set off from the Seychelles for Tanzania on October 21 on their 38-foot-yacht, the Lynn Rival, according to their blog. They have not been heard from since, but a distress beacon was activated on October 23, according to naval officials.
International military forces have been treating the case as a "potential hijacking," Lt. Ian Jones of Britain's Royal Navy told CNN Tuesday. "We have no confirmation that anything has been pirated," he added.
There are many possibilities, he said, adding he was aware of the reports of piracy but that hijacking was "far from certain."The British Royal Navy has found the yacht belonging to a British couple missing in... more
Arguably one of the most EPIC FAIL! moment that ever happened in recent times, was when Somali Pirates attempted to attack French Navy's 18,000 tonne flagship, in the Indian Ocean, after they mistakenly thought that it was a cargo ship.
The pirated did realize their stupid mistake and fled the scene, but were pursued by the French Navy and apprehended.
Also the pirates are waiting to have their EPIC FAIL! moment be made even more public through FAILBLOG!
Ahahahaha!Arguably one of the most EPIC FAIL! moment that ever happened in recent times, was... more
Nearly forty Egyptian crew members on board two hijacked fishing boats killed two of the pirates, wound another before managing to break free themselves and their ships from pirates, a pirate commander said on Friday.Nearly forty Egyptian crew members on board two hijacked fishing boats killed two of... more
Using machetes and guns, the men fought a desperate battle to take control of two boats off the Somali coast. But this time, it wasn't pirates who launched the attack – it was Egyptian fishermen who had been held hostage for four months and who killed two brigands and took others captive as they regained control of their vessels.
On Friday, the roughly three dozen newly liberated fishermen sailed toward home. One pirate was in custody in Somalia after local fishermen found him near shore with machete wounds, police said.
Another pirate, who said he escaped during the fight on Thursday, described the struggle in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
"They attacked us with machetes and other tools, seized some of our guns and then fought us," said the pirate who identified himself only his nom de guerre, Miraa. "I could see two dead bodies of my colleagues lying on the ship. I do not know the fate of the nine others."Using machetes and guns, the men fought a desperate battle to take control of two... more
Suspected Somali pirates have seized a German-owned cargo ship off the coast of Oman, the first recorded attack in its territorial waters, NATO alliance staff said on Friday.Suspected Somali pirates have seized a German-owned cargo ship off the coast of Oman,... more
U.K. London,(guardian) In documents obtained by a Spanish radio station. Attacks by Somali pirates are being coordinated by an Intelligence Team located in London.U.K. London,(guardian) In documents obtained by a Spanish radio station. Attacks by... more
With twice as many attacks in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year, piracy has become a huge — and costly — problem for ship owners, especially those whose vessels go near Somalia.
Ship owners, like all businessmen, look at the bottom line: Time is money, and when pirates attack one of their ships, owners typically just want to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible. So they pay the ransom.
"The level of ransoms that are being demanded at the moment, although they're significantly higher than they were maybe 12 months ago, are still at a level where it's cheaper, easier and more efficient to just pay the money to get the ship released rather than run the risk of an escalation or a hijacking," says Peter Townsend, who directs the marine division of Aon insurance.
It is possible, after all, to get insurance against piracy. If a Somali pirate shoots a hole in your ship, hull insurance covers the cost of repairs. A kidnap-and-ransom policy covers the cost of negotiating with the pirates, medical care if someone gets hurt and the expenses involved in getting the ransom payment delivered.
But piracy insurance premiums are about 10 times what they were a year and a half ago — due entirely to the increased threat off Somalia. And a small but increasing number of owners have decided it's time to fight the pirates.With twice as many attacks in the first three months of this year than in the same... more
Yemeni special forces stormed an oil tanker that had been seized by Somali pirates last week, killing three pirates and capturing 11 more.
The government of Yemen, which is just across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia, is trying to portray itself as part of the solution to piracy in the region. But others say that Yemen — which is itself a failing state where sympathy for the Somali pirates runs deep — might be part of the problem.
The pirates had seized the Yemeni-owned tanker just 10 miles off Yemen's coast, after it left the port city Mukalla. The next day, the Yemeni coast guard retook the ship and brought the alleged pirates back to port. The men were paraded in front of reporters while the Yemeni national anthem blared from a coast guard boat.Yemeni special forces stormed an oil tanker that had been seized by Somali pirates... more
Five years ago, when people talked about piracy, it was Southeast Asia, not Somalia, that was getting all the attention.
Back then, about 40 percent of attacks reported worldwide happened in or around the vital waterway between Malaysia and Indonesia known as the Strait of Malacca. Roughly one-quarter of the world's trade and about one-third of its oil pass through the strait each year, and pirates took advantage of the slow-moving, tempting targets with numbing regularity.
Today, though, those attacks have fallen off dramatically, largely due to greater regional cooperation and increased resources to stop piracy.
'Happy Happy' No More
Andri is a former pirate. Once upon a time, the Indonesian says, being a pirate was fun.
"Sometimes, we'd get as much as $5,000 from one ship, and we used the money to have a good time. We'd go to a big city and spend it on 'happy happy.' Then we'd move somewhere else and do it some more," he says.
"Happy happy" is pirate talk for drinking, dancing and women. And the pirate's life was one Andri was pretty much groomed for, having grown up on the island of Belakang Padang, a notorious pirate haven. But Andri says he gave up the pirate's life a few years ago. It was too dangerous, he says.
"I thought it was better for me to stop before I got caught, because the Indonesians and the Malaysians and the Singaporeans all started increasing their patrols. And it was getting harder and harder to avoid them," he says.
Andri says he is glad he quit when he did. Two people he used to run with got caught a few months back and are now in prison.
Cooperation Post-Sept. 11
The number of reported sea robbery attacks in Southeast Asia has declined fairly significantly over the past five years, says Ian Storey, who follows maritime security at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Focus has been on the Strait of Malacca, where the number of attacks dropped to just two in 2008 from 38 in 2004, Storey says.
One reason the numbers have dropped is greater cooperation between regional governments after Sept. 11 that was spurred by fears of what might happen if they didn't. At the time, Western countries began worrying about a possible linkup between pirates and terrorists bent on disrupting the global economy by attacking one of the world's major trade routes.
Storey says the countries in the region came under a lot of pressure, particularly from the United States, to take action.
"In the case of Indonesia and Malaysia, there was a very real fear that if they didn't do anything about it, then the U.S. might act unilaterally," Storey says.
"They would see that as infringement of their sovereignty, and they also believed that a U.S. military presence in Straits of Malacca would fuel Islamic extremism in the region," he says.
New Resources Help, But More Needed To Keep Up
Coordinated patrols and information sharing are now common. Storey says Indonesia has done a better job of dealing with the problem. And contributions by foreign governments — such as new coastal radar and new boats for the Indonesian maritime police — also have helped.
Take, for instance, the two shiny new boats at Indonesia's regional maritime police headquarters in Sekupang, a 15-minute boat ride from the pirate island of Belakang Padang.
The new 30-foot patrol boats have twin Mercury 250 horsepower engines, with speeds of up to 40 miles an hour. They are gifts from the U.S. government, part of a $47 million program to help improve regional interdiction and counterterrorism efforts. Overall, more than a dozen have been delivered to the Indonesian government.
Mohammad Yassin Kosasih, the regional marine police commander, appreciates the boats but says that he can use at least another 10.
"These boats are the newest and the fastest we have, but we still don't have nearly enough," Kosasih says. "We're doing a good job against the pirates, but the smugglers and the traffickers are still better equipped than we are — aFive years ago, when people talked about piracy, it was Southeast Asia, not Somalia,... more
France intercepted 11 suspected Somali pirates on Sunday after they mistook a French naval ship for a commercial vessel and started heading toward it in preparation for an attack, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.Epic fail on the part of the pirates.
France intercepted 11 suspected Somali... more
It is called Somalia, but to most of the world it could easily be renamed the Land of Pirates. Havoc on the high seas has become routine off the coast of this East African nation, with scores of hijackings so far this year. Last month, Navy SEALs rescued an American merchant captain after Somali pirates raided the Maersk Alabama as it was making its way around the Horn of Africa to deliver aid.
For nearly 20 years, Somalia has endured political chaos and bloodshed. The impoverished country's 10 million people are living without a formal economy or a functioning central government.
But, known for their pragmatism, they survive.
For many Somalis, choosing a line of business is the most practical decision of all. What works is right, and what doesn't work is wrong. That is why piracy has taken hold in the country: It's a multimillion-dollar industry that works.
'A Pirate Until I Die'
"I'll be a pirate until I die. We are not animals. We are human. We are normal people. We share with the people," says a pirate who goes by the name Abshir Abdullahi Abdi and the nickname "Boya."
Boya, from the Puntland region of Somalia, says he knows piracy is tearing at the seams of traditional Somali values. But he says he places more value on the money — and the mouths it can feed.
"We understand what we're doing is wrong. But hunger is more important than any other thing," he says.
To understand why piracy works in Somalia, it helps to know some basics about the place.
Roughly speaking, Somalia is shaped like the numeral 7. But the nation isn't half as lucky.
On the top of the 7 is Somaliland, which is on the Gulf of Aden. Somaliland calls itself an independent republic and steers clear of the commotion in the other regions. It has had fewer problems with pirates, in part because there is peace in Somaliland. The region also has a small coast guard.
On the corner of the 7 is Puntland, which is on both the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Puntland means "Land of Spices." But the region is better known for human trafficking and piracy. Most hijacked ships are moored off Puntland.
And at the bottom of the 7 — and fully on the Indian Ocean — is an area known simply as The South. The capital, Mogadishu, is here, as are most of the Islamists fighting the current president.It is called Somalia, but to most of the world it could easily be renamed the Land of... more
A review of U.S. efforts to combat piracy on the high seas is nearing completion. Military options are under consideration, but experts agree that the ultimate answer to the piracy problem will also require political solutions — addressing issues such as poverty, lawlessness and instability in the pirates' countries of origin.
Just hours after merchant marine Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama was rescued from Somali pirates by the U.S. Navy on April 12, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, instructed defense planners to come up with some "fresh ideas" for fighting piracy.
In an interview with NPR after he ordered his review, Mullen noted that the scourge of piracy requires more than just a "military solution."
Vast Waters, Few Ships
Mullen's view is common in the hallways of the Pentagon when talk turns to the difficulty of stopping piracy in the busy shipping lanes that stretch from the Gulf of Aden to the coast of Somalia.A review of U.S. efforts to combat piracy on the high seas is nearing completion.... more
NAIROBI, Kenya – A NATO spokesman says Somali pirates have hijacked a British-owned cargo ship crewed by Ukrainians.
Lt-Cmdr. Alexandre Santos Fernandes says the Maltese-flagged Ariana was hijacked northwest of the Seychelles islands about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from NATO's operating area.
He says the crew members are all Ukrainian, but ship-owner Seven Seas Maritime Ltd. has not given the exact number of people onboard.
Fernandes said Saturday that the Ariana was taken in a rare overnight attack.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.NAIROBI, Kenya – A NATO spokesman says Somali pirates have hijacked a British-owned... more
Somali pirates have captured a cargo with 24 Ukranian crew members at the Seychelles Saturday.
The Maltese-flagged Ariana was traveling from Brazil and heading to the Middle East. It is believe to be carrying soya beans. Nato says its a British-owed ship, but other reports says that it is Greek.Somali pirates have captured a cargo with 24 Ukranian crew members at the Seychelles... more
Somalia's fishermen have formed sea-going vigilante teams to fight back against pirates who are hijacking their boats, it was reported on Tuesday.
Follow link for full story by Mike Pflanz in Nairobi for The Telegraph U.K.Somalia's fishermen have formed sea-going vigilante teams to fight back against... more
Somalia is in the news, once again, for all the wrong reasons. And thanks to the ‘Pirates of the Horn of Africa’ there is a flurry of activity everywhere.Somalia is in the news, once again, for all the wrong reasons. And thanks to the... more
In the days after the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somali pirates, the papers here were full of news about the incident. Many letter writers praised the cargo ship's captain, Richard Phillips, for volunteering to be a hostage in exchange for his crew's safety, with one commenting that he wished Kenya's feuding leaders would draw a lesson "and put the interests of the country before their own." Others expressed the hope that the United States will work to eliminate the pirate menace, noting how close Somalia is to Kenya. No one, however, has proposed military action against Somalia.
That was left to US hawks, who--conflating piracy, the militant Somali group Al Shabab and Al Qaeda--swiftly turned the attack into a new excuse for extending the "war on terror" to this corner of Africa. John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, called for an invasion as "the prudential response" to piracy, while the Heritage Foundation's James Carafano argued for "going into Somalia and rooting out the [pirate] bases." Former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan maintained in the Wall Street Journal that if Al Qaeda mounts another successful attack, "there is a strong chance it will be linked to Somalia."
The Obama administration's response to Somali piracy--and the strategy it develops to deal with Al Shabab--will be a crucial test of whether the neocon worldview retains any traction. So far the signals are frustratingly mixed. On the one hand, Defense Secretary Robert Gates's coolheaded comments in the wake of the attack signaled that the administration has thrown off the Bush-era lens and sees the world as the messy and complicated place that it is. On April 13 Gates explained that "there is no purely military solution" to the threat of piracy and suggested that the best strategy for dealing with hijackers like those who captured the Maersk Alabama--whom he described as "untrained teenagers with heavy weapons"--was to improve governance and economic stability. On the other hand, if a front-page April 11 Washington Post story is to be believed, even before the piracy incident administration officials were paying respectful attention to defense officials' recommendations to pre-emptively strike Al Shabab training camps "based on the potential threat the group poses to American interests."
What worries me in particular is the ease with which Americans who should know better are buying into the claim that Al Shabab is working closely with Al Qaeda--a contention reminiscent of the repeated charge that Saddam Hussein was in league with Osama bin Laden. The Washington Post story, for example, spoke flatly of the "ties between [Al Shabab's] leaders and al-Qaeda." Reuters, by contrast, carefully referred to Al Shabab on March 19 as a group that "Washington accuses of having close ties to al Qaeda." Al Shabab denies organizational links to Al Qaeda, though in a March 3 interview with Al Jazeera (as reported by Purdue professor Michael Weinstein), its spokesman said the group shares Al Qaeda's goals of implementing Sharia, uniting Islamic countries and "restoring the Caliphate."
Sitting here in Nairobi, in a country grappling with ethnic tensions and an estimated 40 percent unemployment rate, the question of just what the Obama administration believes about piracy and terrorism in Somalia is not academic. Somalia is Kenya's neighbor, and even the few US bombing runs into the country to date, targeting alleged Al Qaeda operatives, have resulted in a huge influx of Somali refugees. Kenya's Dadaab refugee center is home to an estimated 250,000 people, while the population of the area of Nairobi known--not affectionately--as Little Mogadishu has swelled with illegal immigrants.In the days after the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somali pirates, the papers here... more
Yemeni coast guard forces have freed a hijacked Yemeni oil tanker and arrested 11 Somali pirates, the first time the country has successfully retaken a seized vessel, officials said Monday.
The coast guard exchanged gunfire with the pirates and took control of the oil tanker Qana on Sunday, a security official said.
The vessel had been hijacked earlier in the day while heading between the two southern Yemeni ports of Mukalla and Aden. The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Yemen, an impoverished country on the southwestern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, is across the treacherous Gulf of Aden from Somalia, on the Horn of Africa. It's the first time Yemen's forces have successfully battled a hijacking since piracy began to surge in the Gulf of Aden a year ago.
A strengthened international naval force has been patrolling the waters since the beginning of this year
Pirates have hijacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, including one in a dramatic standoff between pirates and the U.S. Navy earlier this month. The Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
The Yemeni oil tanker seized Sunday was not carrying any crude at the time of the attack, said the head of the company that owns the vessel, Mohammed Abdul-Rahman.
The ship was among four vessels under escort by a Yemeni coast guard boat at the time. The three other vessels escaped the attack.Yemeni coast guard forces have freed a hijacked Yemeni oil tanker and arrested 11... more
(CNN) -- Countries have pledged $213 million at an international conference to boost security in Somalia and halt the country's growing piracy problem.
"We have a unique opportunity to support leaders who have shown a commitment to building peace and rebuilding the Somali state," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "By opening the space for security, we open the door to a better life for Somalia's people."
"The risks of not supporting the new government are too high and the costs of failure too enormous," Ban added.
Organized by the European Union, the conference included leaders from the United Nations and African Union.
As the pledges rolled in, Somalia's prime minister said international naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden were not solving the problem of piracy in the region.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke pointed to the recent increase in pirate attacks as evidence, and called for the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia to be lifted so the government can fight back against the pirates and militant Islamist groups.
"One of our biggest problems is that al-Shabaab has AK-47s, and the pirates have AK-47s, and the government has AK-47s," the prime minister said in Nairobi, Kenya. Al-Shabaab, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, is an Islamic militant group that controls much of southern Somalia.
"You can't expect the government to win against such a problem. The only way is to have sufficient capability, and it starts with lifting the arms embargo. You know, we have been handicapped by those sanctions."
The arms embargo on Somalia has been in effect for more than 16 years. Most serviceable weapons and almost all ammunition currently available in the country have been delivered since 1992, in violation of the embargo, according to the U.N. Security Council.
Pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia's coast accounted for 61 of the 102 attacks during the first quarter. That compares with six incidents for the same period in 2008, said the International Maritime Bureau, which issues regular reports on piracy worldwide.
The European Union and several nations, including the United States, have naval forces in the region to protect vessels against pirate attacks. The head of EU naval forces in the waters off Somalia said he thinks navies can defeat pirates on the high seas, but ultimately restoring long-term stability to Somalia will be what stops the attacks.
Still, Rear Adm. Philip Jones said: "It'll be a long period of time before that's successful, and we must be ready to secure the seas until that's in place."
"Assisting Somalia's new government to establish increased security and stability across the country is critical for tackling the root causes of piracy," the EU said in a statement about the international conference in Brussels, Belgium. "Recent events show that piracy is increasingly putting in jeopardy the security of ships in the Gulf of Aden and in the wider maritime region."
A dramatic increase in activity by Somali pirates led to a near-doubling in the number of pirate attacks globally in the first quarter of 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Ahead of the conference, Ban indicated that he was not ready to send U.N. troops to Somalia. The idea of a U.N. peacekeeping force is divisive, he said, and "could exacerbate the conflict if pursued too soon."
Instead, Ban recommended supporting the existing African Union force in Somalia, helping build Somalia's security institutions and supporting political reconciliation in the country. If that works, the United Nations would open a political office in Somalia to support the country's political process, Ban said.
Then, if the U.N. presence succeeds, the Security Council could decide on a U.N. peacekeeping operation to take over from the African Union force, he said.
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Share your opinions and comments.(CNN) -- Countries have pledged $213 million at an international conference to boost... more
With all the recent hype about Pirates off the Somalian coast, I think its time we let the pirates have their say.
Here's an article from the BBC who spoke to a 25 year old pirate. An interesting read.With all the recent hype about Pirates off the Somalian coast, I think its time we let... more
