Man, these Islamic guys want to cut my hands off. Maybe it’s time for a change.
Abshir Boyah • A Somali pirate boss who admits to 25 ship-hijackings in his time, on the thing that’s getting him to change his mind a little bit – Islamic sheiks who seem set against piracy. They’re not the only ones – local governments are starting to turn against piracy, too – but they’re the most influential. Plus, there’s only so many butt-kickings the pirates can get from the U.S. before it starts to sink in. • source
Four freighters in two days?! Sure, the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips got all the headlines, but on other fronts, the pirates just keep doing their thing. In the last two days alone, they’ve captured four different freighters with origin points as varied as Egypt and Lebanon. source
Four freighters in two days?! Sure, the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips got all the headlines, but on other fronts, the pirates just keep doing their thing. In the last two days alone, they’ve captured four different freighters with origin points as varied as Egypt and Lebanon.
An American ship attacked The latest incident involved The Liberty Sun, a ship bringing humanitarian aid to Kenya. That ship was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, and suffered damage, but the crew managed to keep them off the ship. source
U.S. officials say Richard Phillips is still safe. Phillips attempted to escape into the water but was recaptured by the four gunmen currently holding him hostage. Despite this, the government has every reason to believe Phillips remains unharmed. In other news, Maersk would not say how its crew regained control of the ship from the pirates – they say they’ll launch an investigation later. source
A lot of the vessels that had been taken have been previously released, so like any other businessman, when you’re out of stock, what do you do? You go and get more stock. The Somali pirates are businessmen.
Jim Wilson • Middle East correspondent for Fairplay International Shipping Magazine, on the recent increase in Somali pirate attacks in the last couple of weeks, after a slow period. They’ve made tens of millions of dollars this way, by the way. • source