And now for something a little lighter!

Pirate keyboard has only one letter (guess which one): "

ARRRRR!

CTRL-ALT-BELAY!

[via Walyou and Gearfuse]

Somalis hijack grain ship, take Spaniards hostage - Reuters India

Somalis hijack grain ship, take Spaniards hostage - Reuters India: "

AFP

Somalis hijack grain ship, take Spaniards hostage Reuters India The pirate gangs -- some made up of former fishermen angered by the presence of foreign fishing fleets in Somali waters -- have made tens of millions of ... Somali pirates take Spanish hostages ashoreCNN International Somali pirates take some Spanish crew ashoreReuters South Africa Pirates transfer three crew members to SomaliaEITB News24 all 159 news articles »

US Navy: American cargo ship evades pirate attack - New York Daily News

US Navy: American cargo ship evades pirate attack - New York Daily News: "

AFP	US Navy: American cargo ship evades pirate attack New York Daily News AP MOGADISHU, Somalia - The US Navy says an American-flagged cargo vessel has escaped a brush with armed pirates off the coast of East Africa. ... Norwegian warship in sea-battle off Somali coast: EUAFP all 73 news articles »

German Warship Stops Suspected Pirate Vessel in Indian Ocean - Bloomberg

German Warship Stops Suspected Pirate Vessel in Indian Ocean - Bloomberg: "

AFP

German Warship Stops Suspected Pirate Vessel in Indian Ocean Bloomberg 4 (Bloomberg) -- A German warship stopped a suspected pirate mother ship in the Indian Ocean that may have been involved in attacking merchant vessels, ... Pirates thwarted twice in Indian Ocean: EUAFP EU NAVFOR disrupts pirate activity after attacksdefpro all 4 news articles »

Somali pirates take Spanish hostages ashore - CNN International

Somali pirates take Spanish hostages ashore - CNN International: "

Somali pirates take Spanish hostages ashore CNN International Spanish policemen escort to a juvenile court in Madrid an alleged pirate suspected of helping to seize the Alakrana. ... Spanish hostages' wives: 3 crew taken ashoreThe Associated Press Somali pirates take some Spanish crew ashoreReuters South Africa Pirates take crew members of Spanish trawler to Somalia: kinMSN Philippines News EITB -eTaiwan News -News24 all 100 news articles »

Reuters: FACTBOX - Ships held by Somali Pirates

Nov 5 (Reuters) - A bulk carrier, the MV Delvina, was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, the EU naval force and a local maritime official said.

Here is a list of ships under the control of Somali pirates:

WIN FAR 161: Taiwanese tuna boat, seized on April 6, 2009.

ARIANA: Seized on May 2, 2009. Ariana was seized north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil. The 24 Ukrainian crew were said to be unhurt. The ship, flying a Maltese flag, belongs to All Oceans shipping in Greece.

CHARELLE: Seized on June 12, 2009. The 2,800-tonne cargo ship carrying about nine crew was attacked south of Oman.

ALAKRANA: Seized on Oct. 2, 2009. The 3,716-tonne fishing vessel has a crew of 36 and a home port in the Spanish Basque Country. The Seychelles coastguard said the ship was seized 400 nautical miles northwest of Mahe. The vessel had previously escaped an attempted hijack on Sept. 4.

KOTA WAJAR: Seized on Oct. 15, 2009. The 24,637-tonne container ship, seized 300 nautical miles north of Seychelles, was heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa from Singapore. It had 21 crew on board.

DE XIN HAI - Seized on Oct. 19, 2009. The Chinese bulk vessel carried about 76,000 tonnes of coal and there were 25 Chinese crew aboard when it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean 550 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia. The vessel is owned by the Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co.

AL KHALIQ - Seized on Oct. 22, 2009. The Panamanian-registered ship carried 26 crew, 24 of whom are Indian. The ship is owned and operated by SNP Shipping of Mumbai. The 1984-built, 38,305 dwt bulk carrier was seized around 180 nautical miles west of Seychelles.

LYNN RIVAL - Seized October 2009. A British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, were sailing to the east African country of Tanzania when they were seized on their 38-ft yacht.

THAI UNION 3 - Seized on Oct. 29, 2009. Pirates on two skiffs boarded the tuna fishing boat with 23 Russians, two Filipinos and two Ghanaians on board about 200 nautical miles north of the Seychelles and 650 miles off the Somali coast.

DELVINA - Seized on Nov. 5, 2009. The 53,629 dwt bulk carrier had 21 crew on board from the Ukraine and the Philippines. The vessel was seized 250 nautical miles northwest of Madagascar and was laden with wheat.


* PIRACY FACTS:

-- Piracy attacks around the world numbered 324 during the year to Oct. 20, with 37 vessels hijacked and 639 hostages taken. In the same period in 2008 there were 194 attacks, 36 ships hijacked and 631 hostages, according to the latest figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB).

-- Of the 324 incidents, attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia, numbered 174, with 35 vessels hijacked and 587 crew taken hostage .

-- Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal.

Sources: Reuters/Ecoterra International/International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre/Lloyds List/Inquirer.net

Reuters: Turkey navy commandos seize 5 pirates in Aden Gulf

Turkish navy commandos detained five pirates trying to hijack a Greek boat in the Gulf of Aden, the Turkish military said on Thursday.

 

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