Tag Archives: somalia

Puntland Forces Free 22 Crew from MV Iceberg 1 – Held Hostage for 33 Months by Somali Pirates

Posted on December 24, 2012 by

Wonderful news. Forces of Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region are reported to have raided the MV Iceberg I on Sunday and to have rescued 22 officers and crew who had been held hostage by Somali pirates for 33 months.  The Puntland forces had … Continue reading →

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The Human Cost of Piracy or Thanks For Not Talking Like a Pirate

Posted on September 19, 2012 by

Today is the official “Talk Like a Pirate Day.”   Time to celebrate murderous thugs and to imitate characters from Disney amusement park rides.  Oh goodie.  Or maybe not. Today is also an excellent time to consider the very real … Continue reading →

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Danish Warship Absalon Rescues 16 Hostages from Hijacked Ship, 2 Hostages Die in Attack

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

Sixteen hostages were freed when the Danish warship HDMS Absalon attacked pirates in control of a hijacker vessel off the coast of Somalia late Sunday.  Two crew from the hijacked ship were found to have severe injuries and subsequently died.   The circumstances of … Continue reading →

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Seafarers Held Hostage in Somalia – Invisible and Ignored

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

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 →

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Disabled French Woman Kidnapped on Kenyan Coast and Taken to Somalia

Posted on October 2, 2011 by

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 →

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Updates: Murderer on HMS Astute Sentenced, Kidnapped Briton in Somalia & MSC Luciana Refloated

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

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 →

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“I was kidnapped by Somali pirates”

Posted on September 17, 2011 by

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 →

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Update: Somali Pirates Free 7 Danes

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

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 →

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Interview with a Multi-millionaire Pirate

Posted on March 18, 2011 by

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 →

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500 Seafarers held hostage by pirates at Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2010 by

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 →

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Thirteen Refugees Drown after Rescue Attempt by USS Winston S. Churchill

Posted on September 29, 2010 by

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 →

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Update on the M/V Magellan Star – “The Crew is on Holiday.”

Posted on September 11, 2010 by

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 →

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US Marines Recapture M/V Magellan Star from Somali Pirates

Posted on September 9, 2010 by

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 →

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MV Moscow University – Why Anti-Piracy Efforts off Somalia Are Doomed to Fail

Posted on May 10, 2010 by

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 →

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Pirate Weekend in Newburgh, NY and Real Pirates Charged in Norfolk

Posted on April 24, 2010 by

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 →

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NATO Destroyer Sinks Pirate Mother Ship off Somalia but Lets Pirates Go

Posted on March 1, 2010 by

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 →

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UK Government says “Don’t Pay Ransom and Don’t Arm your Ships”

Posted on January 26, 2010 by

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 →

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Talking Like a Somali and Update on the MV Faina

Posted on October 26, 2008 by

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 →

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Old Salt in The Huffington Post

Posted on October 2, 2008 by

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 →

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Pirate Stand-off in the Indian Ocean

Posted on September 29, 2008 by

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 →

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