Dennis M. Powers’ Tales of the Seven Seas: The Escapades of Captain Dynamite Johnny O’Brien recounts the story of a larger than life sailor who rose from being a bullied sixteen year old ship’s boy sailing before the mast to become … Continue reading
Search Results for: "pirates"
A fascinating post from the Lawyers, Guns and Money blog. Thanks to Andy from the Maritime Texas blog for passing it along. The bottom line seems to be that piracy is an expensive business and may be progressively less profitable as ship … Continue reading
The monsoons have ended which means that it is pirate season again off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. The bad news is that it is now estimated that piracy off Somalia is costing the international … Continue reading
Last week we posted about the International Chamber of Shipping’s concern that governments are not doing enough to combat piracy. Now the British government, after long opposing the payment of ransoms to free hijacked ships is also trying to discourage the … Continue reading
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) issued a statement which we think is right on target. The current policy of disrupting but not consistently apprehending pirates has been a failure. The unacceptable situation prevailing now, with seafarers lives being threatened … Continue reading
UPDATE: Maran Tankers Management Inc. said the crew – 9 Greeks, 16 Filipinos, 2 Ukrainians, and a Romanian – was safe and well. In strange turn, pirates send out an SOS Unconfirmed reports suggest that infighting between rival pirate gangs … Continue reading
Owners of a Greek-flagged oil tanker dropped a record ransom payment of $5.5 million to $7 million on the deck of the ship today, prompting Somali pirates to release the Maran Centaurus. Ransoms to Somali pirates have reached a historic … Continue reading
Perhaps it is the thought that counts. Swiss lawmakers have decided against joining EU anti-piracy efforts because it would violate the country’s long-held tradition of neutrality. The land-locked country lacks a blue water navy so could not send a ship or … Continue reading
We hope everyone has a great time at today’s 7th Annual Boothbay Boat Builders Festival. All should keep a a weather eye out as there are rumors of an attack by the Pirates of the Dark Rose, followed by a … Continue reading
Stan Rogers, the late Canadian folk sing/songwriter, sang a song about an ill fated privateering voyage during the American revolution called “Barrett’s Privateer’s“. He was often asked where he learned the song. Most assumed that it was a traditional folk … Continue reading
An update on the MV Faina – still being held hostage by Somali pirates. Somali pirates hold whip hand in standoff And a comment by my 12 year old son, Ted. He suggested that he would like to learn some … Continue reading
One of my particular frustrations with the “Talk-Like a Pirate Day” folks is that even if one ignores the very nasty nature of pirates, historical and modern alike, a second and perhaps even great problem remains. The Talk-Like-a-Piraters do such … Continue reading
I recently read Joan Druett‘s Shark Island, the second in her Wiki Coffin series of mysteries. A brief review: What makes a mystery work for me is the detective – the knowledgeable outsider, living between two worlds, who can see … Continue reading
I was recently published in The Huffington Post. An excerpt: “The Golden Age of Piracy” or Long John Silver in a Tank This morning I was struck by the odd juxtaposition of an announcement for a festival and a … Continue reading
The real life pirate saga, which began Thursday night when Somali pirates seized the Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with a cargo of ammunition, grenade launchers and 33 refurbished Russian T-72 battle tanks, has turned into a stand-off between the pirates holding the crew hostage … Continue reading
If by good fortune you missed the “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”, just as well. If you managed to pass the day without a single “Aargh” or “Shiver Me Timbers” congratulations. I have a rather good sense of humor … Continue reading