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Seafarers Held Hostage in Somalia – Invisible and Ignored
The last paragraph of the Associated Press article Navy SEAL Raid in Somalia Shows Campaign Ahead, reads: Several hostages were still being held in Somalia, including a British tourist, two Spanish doctors seized from neighboring Kenya and an American journalist kidnapped on Saturday. Based … Continue reading
Disabled French Woman Kidnapped on Kenyan Coast and Taken to Somalia
Marie Didieu, a disabled 66-year-old French woman, was kidnapped yesterday from her vacation home on Manda Island, part of the Lamu archipelago, not far from where a British tourist was killed and his wife abducted three weeks ago. The kidnappers arrived and departed by … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged al-Shabab, David Tebbutt, French woman, Judith Tebbutt, Kenya, kidnapped, Lamu archipelago, Manda Island, Marie Didieu, pirates, somalia
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Updates: Murderer on HMS Astute Sentenced, Kidnapped Briton in Somalia & MSC Luciana Refloated
Updates on three previous posts: On Monday, Able Seaman Ryan Donovan was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to murdering a senior officer on board the HMS Astute last April. Submariner’s grudge turned proud day into tragedy British tourist Judith Tebbutt, … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Able Seaman Ryan Donovan, containership, David Tebbutt, Judith Tebbutt, Kenya, MSC Luciana, pirates, somalia
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“I was kidnapped by Somali pirates”
Today is “International Talk Like A Pirate Day.” Many use it as an excuse to dress up in bad costumes and shout “Aaargh, Matie” and “Shiver me Timbers,” in some sort of odd homage to Johnny Depp and the Disney … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Disney pirate, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, somalia
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Update: Somali Pirates Free 7 Danes
Last February we posted that Somali pirates had hijacked a Danish sailboat with four adults and three children aboard. Yesterday, the Danish Foreign Ministry announced seven Danish citizens, including a family with three children had been released. It has been reported that the pirates were … Continue reading
Interview with a Multi-millionaire Pirate
The son of a fisherman, who moved on to selling khat, Saeed Yare became a pirate only two years ago and ”earned” over $2.4 million in 2010 in ransom of ships and crews. It is estimated that piracy is inflicting a $12-billion toll on … Continue reading
500 Seafarers held hostage by pirates at Christmas
The real victims of piracy are invariably the seafarers who are held for ransom often under grim conditions for long periods of time. From a statement relased by the Round Table of international shipping associations – and the International Transport … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Seastories
Tagged Indian Ocean, seafarers, Somali pirates, somalia
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Thirteen Refugees Drown after Rescue Attempt by USS Winston S. Churchill
Given all the reporting on piracy off the Horn of Africa, we hear very little about another crisis – the flood of refugees fleeing the instability and chaos of Somalia’s clan wars. Last year 74,000 people crossed the Gulf of Aden in smugglers’ boats to reach Yemen, according … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Gulf of Aden, refugees, somalia, USS Winston S. Churchill
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Update on the M/V Magellan Star – “The Crew is on Holiday.”
More details on the capture of the M/V Magellan Star. The crew and the ship management company kept their heads and their sense of humor when the ship was boarded by Somali pirates on Wednesday. When the pirates boarded the ship, … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged M/V Magellan Star, pirates, somalia
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US Marines Recapture M/V Magellan Star from Somali Pirates
Twenty-four U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force stormed the German-owned containership M/V Magellan Star today, capturing the pirates that had seized control of the ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. No … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Gulf of Aden, M/V Magellan Star, M/V Miltiades, Olib G, pirates, somalia
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MV Moscow University – Why Anti-Piracy Efforts off Somalia Are Doomed to Fail
Two news stories, days apart demonstrate, at least to me, why the current efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia are doomed to fail. We posted previously how the tanker MV Moscow University was recaptured from pirates by … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged MV Moscow University, pirates, Russian Special Forces, Russian tanker, somalia
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Pirate Weekend in Newburgh, NY and Real Pirates Charged in Norfolk
This week HMS Bounty, the replica ship built for the 1960 movie, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” will be the centerpiece of the “Pirate Weekend” in Newburgh, New York, on the Hudson River, sixty miles north of new York City. The Bounty … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged HMS Bounty, hudson river, new york, Newburgh, piracy, somalia
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NATO Destroyer Sinks Pirate Mother Ship off Somalia but Lets Pirates Go
In the ongoing somewhat surreal operation against piracy off Somalia, the HDMS Absalon, a Danish destroyer, sank a pirate “mother ship” but allowed the pirates to return to shore. The official goal appears to be to “disrupt” rather than stop pirate activities. … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Ships
Tagged Danish destroyer, NATO Destroyer, pirate mother ship, pirates, somalia
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UK Government says “Don’t Pay Ransom and Don’t Arm your Ships”
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
Talking Like a Somali and Update on the MV Faina
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
