Thagarr's Pirate News!

[Thagarr]

Somali pirates hijack two ships over weekend

By Abdi Guled
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates seized control of the German-owned merchant vessel Beluga Fortune in the Indian Ocean Sunday, the second hijacking in the region in as many days, a regional maritime official said.

"The Beluga Fortune was taken today in the Somali basin. We don't know yet exactly where she was hijacked or where she was heading to," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program told Reuters.

The Beluga Fortune is owned by the Bremen-based Beluga Shipping. Mwangura said the vessel was likely flying a flag of convenience.

It was not immediately clear how many crew were aboard at the time the ship was commandeered by pirates, nor what it was carrying.

Somalia has lacked an effective central government for almost two decades and is awash with weapons. The mayhem on land has allowed piracy to boom in the strategic waterways off its shores linking Europe to Asia and Africa.

Earlier, it was reported sea-bandits from the lawless Horn of Africa nation had grabbed a Singapore-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker 50 miles (80km) off the coast of east Africa.

Mwangura said the pirates seized the Greek-managed MV York off Kenya Saturday afternoon, less than 12 hours after it sailed from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The European naval force, EU Navfor, said the vessel had a crew of 17, including a German master, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos, and was seized 50 miles (80 kms) from Mombasa.

"She was taken at 1730 local time. She was sailing empty after discharging her LPG cargo at the Shimanzi oil terminal in Mombasa," Mwangura told Reuters.

A pirate who identified himself as Hassan told Reuters by telephone that the LPG tanker, which has a deadweight of 5,076 tonnes, was heading for Garad, a pirate base on the coast of central Somalia.

Somali pirates are holding 20 vessels with more than 430 hostages, according to EU Navfor. Typically they earn a ransom for their release.

Original story here :
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/in...jack_two_ships_over_weekend.html?cid=28621604

And a bit of an update on the Mexican pirates...

Pirate Attack Widow Seeks Border Security

LASALLE, Colo.) -- Tiffany Hartley, whose husband was shot while the two were fleeing from Mexican pirates on jet skis earlier this month has opened up again about the experience and has called for President Obama to pay further attention to border security.

Speaking outside of her home in LaSalle, Colo., Hartley revealed that she spent 16 hours speaking with Mexican officials, who, in a rare move, came across the border to meet with her.

Hartley plans to remain in Colorado for the time being to relax at her family's 20-acre ranch, but wants to use the media to help keep the case in the spotlight.

Mexican authorities have said they will press their search for David Hartley's body after the lead investigator, Rolando Flores, was decapitated on October 12.

Hartley was shot September 30 while on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. Tiffany Hartley said the two were headed back to the American side of the lake on jet skis when they were chased by Mexican pirates. She told authorities that her husband was shot in the head and that she had to flee to shore to save her own life.

Two weeks ago, Mexican authorities named two suspects in Hartley's murder -- two Zeta drug cartel members.

The case highlights the ongoing turf war between Mexican drug cartels and the country's government, which has been waging a war against the growing drug violence. More than 29,000 people have died in drug violence since December 2006, with the Zeta cartel being blamed for the majority of the deaths.

Original stort here :
http://www.670kboi.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=118&itemid=29591059

 

[Thagarr]

EU denies role in Somalia helicopter clash

(AFP)

MOGADISHU — The European Union's anti-piracy mission on Monday denied that one of its helicopters was involved in a clash with Somali pirates in which four people were killed.

Residents in the village of Labad on Somalia's northern coast said pirates had shot at a military helicopter on Sunday night, which returned fire killing at least four people.

"That helicopter does not belong to EU NAVFOR," Lieutenant Colonel Per Klingvall, spokesman for the EU naval force, told AFP.

"We have not heard of any incident like this from other task forces," he said, referring to US and NATO operations in the waters around the lawless Horn of Africa country.

Abdi Yare, a pirate leader, said the helicopter fired one missile in response to the shooting, killing four people including fishermen.

The incident was confirmed to AFP by elders in Labad.

"The pirates were preparing to go for an attack when the chopper spotted them," said Abdulaziz Moalim Ahmed.

Another elder said the helicopter fired a missile after pirates shot at it.

A flotilla of foreign navies has been patrolling off the Somali coast since 2008 to safeguard the crucial Gulf of Aden shipping lane that had nearly been overrun by rampaging pirates from the war-wracked country.

The warships have managed to thwart several hijackings and arrested dozens of pirates, but the attacks have not abated.

At least 27 foreign vessels and 485 seamen remain in the hands of the pirates, according to Ecoterra, an NGO monitoring maritime activities in the region.

Meanwhile, Somali pirates abandoned a hijacking attempt on a German cargo vessel on Monday after pressure from an international patrol vessel, the shipping company said.

Original story here :
http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...docId=CNG.135bb89cab5c7dfce021f53c3286a72b.41

And also this...

Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 25, 2010

Yemen: Al Qaeda militants kill Yemeni intelligence officer in Hadramawt; 30,000 soldiers deployed to Aden for Gulf Cup security; Yemeni foreign minister estimates that 400 al Qaeda militants are active in Yemen; manhunt for al Qaeda elements begins in Shabwah; clip of Anwar al Awlaki released on jihadist forums; eight suspects arrest in Aden for stadium bombing attempt; security official killed in Hajjah governorate; Qatari commission begins implementation of al Houthi rebel ceasefire agreement; Southern Movement leader narrowly escapes bomb attack on his car; Interpol-hunted drug dealer arrested in Yemen; 6 dead after fighting between two tribes in Sana’a; New York congressman asks YouTube to ban videos featuring Anwar al Awlaki; UNHCR convoy stopped on its way to a Somali refugee camp in Lahij

Horn of Africa: Conflict arises between President and Speaker of Parliament over PM approval; Somali government calls for release of British couple one year after their capture by Somali pirates; jihadist forum member killed in Mogadishu fighting; 12 dead and 20 injured in fighting in Mogadishu; Atom believed to be hiding in Somaliland; al Shabaab imposing family tax in Kismayo; AU accuses UN of increasing reliance on African peacekeeping forces without increasing resources; al Shabaab displayed Ugandan AMISOM soldier in streets of Mogadishu; people protest Islamist insurgency in Mogadishu; Hizb al Islam willing to being talks with TFG on certain conditions; UN Security Council calls on TFG to stop infighting; Somali pirates attack 2 ships off of Kenyan coast; twelve Somali pirates begin their trial in Yemen

Yemen Security Brief

* Suspected al Qaeda militants killed Yemeni intelligence Lt. Colonel Abdul Aziz Abu Abed on Friday in front of his home in Mukalla in Hadramawt governorate. This attack is the latest is dozens in recent weeks against local security and government officials throughout Yemen.[1]

* An additional 30,000 soldiers have been sent to Aden to increase security for next month’s Gulf Cup football tournament. According to Lt. General Saleh al Zouari the troops will be responsible for conducting security sweeps as well as providing protection for the participants and spectators at the event.[2]

* Yemen’s foreign minister Abu Bakr al Qirbi estimates that there are 400 al Qaeda militants active in Yemen. According to al Qirbi, the militants “seek to cause chaos and disruption.”[3]

* Yemeni security forces have begun clearance operations in Said district of Shabwah governorate. The governor of Shabwah and the Awlaki tribe signed an agreement with the government to “expel al Qaeda elements from their territories and mount a joint operation with the army (to do so).”[4]

* On Saturday a minute and a half Arabic-language video clip of radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki was released on jihadist forums. The lecture is entitled, “And to Make it Known and Clear to Mankind.”[5]

* Eight suspects have been arrested in Aden for attempts to bomb the stadium that will host the Gulf Cup Football tournament next month. One 30-year old suspect who was caught with 1,800 grams of dynamite and a detonator confessed to planning an attack, according to the interior ministry.[6]

* Ali Abdullah Wahan, Deputy Director of Investigations, was killed in Kushr district in Hajjah governorate on Monday morning by unidentified gunmen. Wahan was killed outside of the police compound in Hajjah on his way to his office.[7]

* The Qatari commission charged with the oversight of the ceasefire between the al Houthi rebels and the government in Sana’a has begun to implement the 22-term ceasefire signed in February of this year. During a recent meeting with both sides, the Qatari commission established eight panels to oversee the ceasefire, beginning this weekend in Sa’ada governorate and Harf Sufyan district in Amran governorate.[8]

* Mohsin al Twairah, a leader of the Southern Movement, narrowly escaped a bomb attack on his car in Jabal al Raidah in Halmeen district in Lahij governorate. The “sticky” bomb, which was most likely detonated by remote control, exploded underneath al Twairah’s parked Toyota early Saturday morning. No one was injured in the attack.[9]

* A drug dealer wanted by Yemen and Saudi Arabia and being hunted by Interpol was arrested in Amran governorate on Saturday, according to governorate security director Abdullah Dabwan.[10]

* Fighting between the Bani Dabyan and al Sahman tribes in Sana’a on Saturday left six people dead. The fighting began when a gunman killed the leader of Bani Dabyan, al Damani al Salmini, on Friday.[11]

* New York congressman Anthony Weiner sent a letter to the chief executive of YouTube asking him to remove all videos of radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki from the website. Weiner said that Awlaki and his videos pose a “clear and present danger to American citizens.”[12]

* A convoy carrying a delegation from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and senior Yemeni officials was intercepted by dozens of separatist gunmen on its way to a Somali refugee camp in Kharaz area in Lahij. The gunmen forced the convoy to drive back to Hawta. There were no casualties reported, and the gunmen allegedly demanded that their clansmen be released Yemeni prisons.[13]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

* The speaker of the TFG Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden released a press release denouncing President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for intervening in what he believes are the tasks of the lawmakers, after Ahmed accused the speaker of not approving the new Prime Minister. Ahmed released a statement saying, “The 1960 constitution decreed the assembly should express confidence or no confidence in the prime minister in an open vote requiring a simple majority…Therefore, I call upon the speaker of Parliament to uphold the law and to not obstruct lawmakers from discharging their solemn constitutional duties.” Aden, on the other hand, believes that the Constitution calls for a vote to be conducted in secret.[14]

* A year after their capture by Somali pirates, the Somali government is calling for the release of a British couple taken near the Seychelles on October 23, 2009. Minister of Information Abdirahman Omar Osman said in a statement, “The responsibility for this outrage lies with the criminals who disrupt this strategic shipping line around our waters.” A Somali pirate called Qodar has said that they are ready to begin negotiations for the release of the couple, but that they will not release the hostages until the ransom is paid.[15]

* A message posted on the forum of the Mujahideen E-Network on October 20, 2010 reported that a member of the al Fallujah forum was killed in Shibis district in Mogadishu as a result of an AMISOM mortar strike. The forum member Abu al Ayna was a commander of a fighting front in Mogadishu.[16]

* Fighting in Mogadishu between al Shabaab and the TFG has left 12 dead and 20 injured. Fighting erupted in Bondhere after al Shabaab attacked a TFG base and in Wardhigley following an al Shabaab attack on Villa Somalia. There was also fighting between the two forces in Hodan district.[17]

* Mohammed Said Atom, an arms smuggler tied to al Shabaab and wanted by the Puntland government, is reportedly hiding in Somaliland. Atom, who was the leader of the militants stationed in Puntland’s Galgala hills, fled the area before Puntland forces took control of the Galgala insurgent outposts last week. According to Garowe’s source, “Atom is living in Burao and Somaliland authorities have not taken any active steps against him.”[18]

* Al Shabaab’s administration in the southern seaport Kismayo has imposed a monthly family tax on residents of Kismayo to aid in their fight against the TFG. The tax will be levied according to the type of shelter in which the family lives and runs between $3.50 and $10.00.[19]

* Tensions arose at last week’s meeting of the UN Security Council as the AU cited the increasing reliance on African nations in peacekeeping roles and the lack of resources being allocated to meet these increasing demands. Nigerian foreign minister Henry Odein Ajumogobia said, “”Too frequently, AU member states are able to muster sufficient troop numbers to address crisis situations, only to have a lack of equipment and logistical support let them down… These demands upon the AU far outweigh its resources and capacities to effectively respond.”[20]

* Following clashes between TFG and al Shabaab forces in Mogadishu on Sunday, al Shabaab left the body of an African soldier on display in the streets that al Shabaab claimed to be a Ugandan soldier. Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohammed Rage said, “One of the dead bodies is here today so that all Muslims can witness the enemy loss with their own eyes.” AMISOM denies al Shabaab’s claim, but a spokesman said, “We will continue our mission even if they kill a hundred of our soldiers because we are here for a reason.”[21]

* The TFG’s Ministry of Information released a statement saying that “thousands of people” demonstrated against the Islamist insurgency in Somalia in a government-organized rally at Gen. Kahie Police Academy in Hamar Jabjab district of Mogadishu on Saturday. The statement said that the protesters rallied to, “show their anger and frustration against the ongoing atrocities by the militant groups.” Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, the Interior Minister, said, “Everyone has a role in bringing peace to the country. The security forces can do little if people do not work with them. We, therefore, ask the public to boldly take their role.”[22]

* Hizb al Islam announced on Saturday that it is open to negotiations with the TFG on the condition that AMISOM troops leave the country. Sheikh Hassan Mahdi, a high-ranking official in Hizb al Islam, said, “We need to go to the negotiations table, we need reconciliation.”[23]

* At a meeting of the UN Security Council last week, the delegation urged the TFG to work on promoting unity within the government. A statement released by the council called on the TFG to “ensure cohesion, remain united and redouble its efforts on reconciliation and the completion of the remaining transitional tasks, in particular the constitution-making process.”[24]

* Somali pirates attacked a German trade ship on its way from the United Arab Emirates to South Africa east of Mombasa Kenya on Sunday. This followed a pirate attack on a ship from Singapore on Saturday. After these most recent attacks, Somali pirates are now holding 19 ships hostage off the Somali shores.[25]

* Twelve Somali pirates arrested in May, 2010 began their trial in Hadramawt governorate in Yemen on Sunday. The men are accused of hijacking Yemeni boats and using them to mount piracy attacks against international vessels.[26]

Original story here :
http://www.criticalthreats.org/gulf-aden-security-review/gulf-aden-security-review-october-25-2010

 

[Thagarr]

British forces in cargo ship rescue

(UKPA)

British forces have helped free a German cargo ship held by Somali pirates off Kenya.

None of the 16 crew members aboard the Beluga Fortune, which was seized about 1,200 miles east of Mombasa on Sunday morning, was harmed in Monday's rescue, said Verena Beckhusen, a spokeswoman for shipping company Beluga-Reederei.

The company said the German military and the international anti-pirate mission Operation Atalanta took part in the operation and the vessel was now on its way to South Africa as planned.

German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle thanked the British military and called the case a "good example for international co-operation in the fight against piracy".

The German foreign and defence ministries would not to give further details about how the rescue occurred, but Nils Stolberg, director of Beluga-Reederei, said a British frigate, a surveillance plane and a helicopter were involved in freeing the cargo ship.

Mr Stolberg said the rescue went peacefully because by the time the military entered the Beluga Fortune the pirates had already fled. He praised the ship's crew, saying it had trained for a similar emergency situation many times over the years.

Mr Stolberg said: "They sent out an emergency call, barricaded themselves in a special security room, shut off the fuel supply and the bridge and informed the military. This way the pirates could not bring the ship under their control or take the sailors at ransom."

While the Bremen-based company worked with the German foreign ministry in Berlin to inform the German, Russian and Filipino family members of the crew, the German military and the anti-pirate mission evaluated the situation on the ground by deploying ships and a surveillance plane.

On Saturday night, pirates seized a liquefied gas tanker 105 miles off the coast of Kenya in the Somali Basin, said officials in Singapore, where the ship is registered.

The MV York was travelling from Mombasa to Mahe in the Seychelles with 17 crew when pirates seized it, the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority said.

Original story here :
http://www.google.com/hostednews/uk...XXbXJk2i1dvE47u3w?docId=N0092551288057332877A

 

[Stallion]

I'd have fled too. :

 

[Thagarr]

I guess that bunch wasn't looking for a fight, they did seem to give up rather easily!

Meanwhile, on the East coast of Africa ...

News Oct 26, 2010

By Samuel Oyadongha
Yenagoa— No fewer than four persons have been reported killed in Bayelsa State in the wake of renewed pirate attacks.

The tragic attack, described as the third in four weeks after a long lull in reported cases of pirate attacks in the state also left one person seriously injured.

Vanguard learnt that the incident which is now a source of serious concern to travelers in the predominantly riverine state occurred Tuesday between the Akassa-Brass-Yenagoa route in the East senatorial district.

Sources revealed that twenty-four hours earlier, some unidentified gunmen had attacked passenger and cargo boats coming from Sangana, Bekebiri and Kongho communities of Akassa and dispossessed the occupants of their valuables.

Environment Rights Action, Field Coordinator in the state, Mr. Alagoa Morris, said, “Travelers are not only apprehensive of the development, their lives are really in danger and need the protection of the government at all levels.”

The latest passenger boat to be attacked, sources said, was returning from Akassa on the Atlantic fringe to Yenagoa, the state capital, when it came under the pirates attack.
The driver of the ill-fated passenger boat was reportedly shot in the leg while trying to evade the pirates’ ambush.

The deceased persons, it was learnt, were artisans from Yenagoa who had gone to the coastal community to work and were returning to the capital city when the incident occurred.

The pirates on seizing the boat had reportedly dispossessed the occupants of their possession and ordered them and others who had nothing to give to jump into river.

While those with swimming experience swam to safety in the mangrove the artisans it was learnt got drowned.

It was further learnt that only one of the corpses had been recovered and deposited at the FMC.

Contacted the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Eguavoen Emopae (ASP) confirmed the attack but could not ascertain the casualty figure.

He said the command had commenced investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile, the group, Environment Rights Action has called on the relevant authorities to help curb the rising incidence of pirates’ attacks in the creeks and waterways of the state.

ERA’s Field Coordinator in the state, Mr. Alagoa Morris who made the appeal in Yenagoa called for intensification of police patrol of the creeks and waterways to check the activities of these criminals wasting the lives of innocent and law abiding Nigerians.

Original story here :
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/10/4-killed-in-bayelsa-pirate-attack/

 

[Thagarr]

Danish navy destroys pirate boat off Somalia

COPENHAGEN (Mareeg.com -- A Danish warship boarded a pirate supply vessel off the coast of Somalia, captured six suspected pirates and then sank the ship, Denmark's navy said on Wednesday.

The suspects were later freed on the coast, a Danish naval command spokesman said.

"They had not committed anything criminal at sea -- they were just on the wrong boat, with the wrong gear at the wrong time," spokesman Kenneth Nielsen said. "They had equipment on board that could be used in piracy."

The boat was seized on Tuesday by the navy's Esbern Snarre vessel during a NATO patrol along Somalia's east coast, the naval command said in a statement.

Piracy is rife off the coast of Somalia in east Africa, disrupting shipping lanes between Europe and Asia, putting crews and vessels in danger and jacking up insurance rates for shipowners.

The Danish crew confiscated a small number weapons and a large amount of fuel before setting explosives to the boat and sinking it, the navy said.

"There is a very strong mandate from the U.N. so that international navies can confiscate and destroy equipment related to piracy," Nielsen said.

The captured supply boat was larger than the skiffs commonly used by pirates in raids so it could operate far from the coast, he said.

"Scuppering this vessel ... prevents them from conducting piracy in the middle of the Indian Ocean where it is difficult to find suspected pirates," Nielsen added.

Original story here :
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=17754&tirsan=3

Also this ...

French-flagged tanker escapes pirate attack in Tanzania

Nairobi, Kenya - Pirates operating in the Indian Ocean coastline, failed to successfully hijack a French-flagged gas tanker after its 14-member crew took refuge in a safe inside the ship, the European Naval Task Force said Wednesday. The French-flagged Liquefied Petroleum Gas Carrier (LPGC), Maido, was reported under attack from one skiff approximately 100 nautical miles south east of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

'The pirates had managed to board the vessel but they were eventually forced to abandon it,' the EU Naval Task Force said in a statement.

The pirates were unable to gain control over the crew who had locked themselves in the ship's 'citadel'.

'The 14 crew members are reported safe,' the Force said.

The late Tuesday attack was the third hijacking attempt, following the seizure of a German tanker. The German tanker, managed by a Greek firm, was attacked a few hours after sailing off from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

A second ship was attacked and successfully pirated the same day.

Original story here :
http://www.afriquejet.com/news/afri...-pirate-attack-in-tanzania-2010102759466.html

 

[Thagarr]

Tuna vessel opens fire: pirates back off

Here's more evidence that Somali pirates get the message when merchant vessels shoot back.

Spanish broadcaster RTVE reports that on Sunday two pirate skiffs broke off their attack and fled after private security guards aboard the Basque tuna vessel Elai Alai fired warning shots at them.

The incident took place about 200 miles west of the island of Mahé the largest in the archipelago of the Seychelles.

The 30 crew aboard the Elai Alai took the normal security precautions, including securing themselves in a place of refuge.

When the pirate skiffs continued their harassment, the private security guards aboard the tuna vessel opened fire and they broke off their attack.

This is the second time within-two weeks that private security guards aboard a Basque fishing vessel have averted a pirate attack. On October 17, guards aboard the fishing vessel Ortube Berria opened fire to repel an attempted boarding by a group of pirates in Indian Ocean waters about 700 miles off Somalia. Guards aboard the Ortuba Berria had previously repelled a November 2009 attcak by exchanging fire with pirates who then fled.

Meantime, as Somali pirate activity continues at a high level, EU Navfor reports mixed fates for ships not employing armed security guards.

On the morning of October 30, 2010, the Maltese-flagged MV Go Trader was reported under attack from one skiff approximately 280 nautical miles (520 kilometers) southeast of Salalah, Oman.

Pirates managed to board the vessel; however, after a couple of hours they eventually abandoned it, after having been unable to get control over the crew who had locked themselves in the ship's "citadel." The 24 crew members are reported safe.

That same morning the 24 members of the crew of the MV Polar a Panama-flagged tanker, was less fortunate.The vessel was attacked during the night, approximately 580 nautical miles (almost 1,100 km) east from Socotra island. The next moring the owner confirmed that the vessel was under pirate control.

The MV POLAR, deadweight 72,825 tons, has a crew of 24, of whom one is Romanian, three are Greek, four Montenegran and 16 Filipino. According to GAC Protective Services, If a successful rescue operation is not initiated [unlikely if the crew is not in a "citadel"] the vessel will likely face a detention period of around 120 days until a ransom is paid for its release.

Original story here :
http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2010oct00314.html

And also this...

435 sailors being held hostage by Somali pirates


Somali pirates are holding more than 435 sailors hostage, despite an international naval operation intended to protect ships sailing across the world's most important sea lanes from attack.

Figures from the London-based International Chamber of Commerce show that while the total number of attacks has declined, the numbers of crew kidnapped and ships hijacked have not. The pirates have had more success with less effort.

On Saturday, pirates hijacked the Liberian-flagged Polar with a crew of 24. Another ship was attacked Friday, and four on Thursday. Earlier this month, pirates took the Greekflagged York and its 17 crew, a Taiwanese fishing boat with 12 crew and a Panamanian cargo ship with 15.

There have been 140 attempted hijackings this year, down from 217 in 2009. However, the number of ships taken already stands at 40, against 47 in the whole of last year. The number of crew kidnapped stands at 790 and experts fear this will soon pass last year's number of 867.

"The multinational naval fleet has been doing a great job, but it simply can't be everywhere, said Capt. Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Chamber of Commerce. " It's a very big ocean."

Each hijacked ship and its crew can bring pirates a ransom of between $2.5 million and $5 million. The 435 captives are those for whom deals have not yet been negotiated, or work for owners who either cannot or will not pay the ransom. Many have been held for months. Britain, the U.S., China, India and other countries started joint naval operations in 2008 to protect the 25,000 ships that travel through the Indian Ocean each year.

The mission has had some success in rescuing hijacked crews and sinking pirate ships, but the buccaneers have responded by moving east and south into unpatrolled seas.

Original story here :
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/sailors+being+held+hostage+Somali+pirates/3756442/story.html

And one more...

Judge upholds case of 5 Somali piracy suspects

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A judge in Virginia says the government can try five Somali men on piracy charges related to an alleged assault on a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Africa.

U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis on Friday rejected a defense motion to dismiss the piracy count. The ruling clears the way for trial Nov. 9 in Norfolk.

The ruling is in contrast to the Aug. 17 dismissal of piracy counts against five other Somalis accused in a separate attack on a Navy ship. That trial has been delayed while the government appeals.

The 10 Norfolk defendants are accused of attacking the USS Ashland and the USS Nicholas in March and April. The Virginia-based ships were part of an international flotilla protecting shipping in the pirate-infested waters off Africa.

Original story here :
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/nation...case-of-5-somali-piracy-suspects1288605592717

 

[Thagarr]

...good work if you can get it!

Somali pirates receive record ransom for ships' release

Somali pirates are reported to have received a total of $12.3m (£7.6m) in ransom money to release two ships.

They are believed to have been paid a record $9.5m (£5.8m) for Samho Dream, a South Korean oil tanker, and nearly $2.8m (£1.7m) for the Golden Blessing, a Singaporean flagged ship.

"We are now counting our cash," a pirate who gave his name as Hussein told Reuters news agency. "Soon we shall get down from the ship."

All crew are believed to be unharmed.

The Samho Dream supertanker was hijacked in the Indian Ocean in April and its crew of five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos were taken hostage. It was carrying crude oil worth $170m (£105m) from Iraq to the US.

Although released it is still within Somali waters and the ship's 24 crew members are said to be in good condition.

Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme in Mombasa, told Reuters that the ransom would be the highest paid out to pirates since they started hijacking ships in recent years.

"They initially demanded $20m. What I can confirm is that negotiators tell me they agreed to make the drop with an amount in excess of $9m.

"This would be the highest sum paid out to pirates so far," he said.

The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro in Nairobi says the size of the payment is likely to change the rules of engagement when it comes to securing the release of ships held by Somali pirates. They are currently holding at least 25 vessels.

Earlier reports said the pirates had received $9m for Samho Dream and $7m for the Golden Blessing, but this was later revised.

The Golden Blessing has 23 Chinese crew.

According to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau, a maritime watchdog, ship hijackings hit a five-year high in the first nine months of 2010, with Somali pirates responsible for the majority.

original story here :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11704306