Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama who was held captive by Somali pirates, testifies before the Sen. Foreign Relations Committee. Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) is looking for ways to confront piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
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CSPAN3 at 2:30. C'mon...CSPAN, Pirates, and Policy...it's a trifecta of awesomeness for me.
30 April 2009
29 April 2009
SKY News: Cruise Ship Hero Fought Off Pirates With Deck Chair
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A British vacationer is being hailed a hero after he thwarted gun-toting pirates attacking a cruise ship — by throwing a deck chair at them.
A British vacationer is being hailed a hero after he thwarted gun-toting pirates attacking a cruise ship — by throwing a deck chair at them.
You Are Being Lied to About Pirates
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Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menace of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell -- and some justice on their side
Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menace of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell -- and some justice on their side
28 April 2009
BBC: Somali vigilantes capture pirates
Regional leaders at Alula and Bargaal in Somalia's northern Puntland region told the BBC they have put together a militia of fishermen to catch pirates.
They decided to act as they were fed up with their fishing vessels being seized at gunpoint by the ocean-going bandits.
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They decided to act as they were fed up with their fishing vessels being seized at gunpoint by the ocean-going bandits.
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27 April 2009
CNN Wire: Maersk Alabama crew member suing company
A crew member on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is suing his employers, claiming they sent him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection, his attorney said Monday.
Richard Hicks of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, a crew member on the Maersk Alabama, was set to file suit Monday against Waterman Steamship Corp. and Maersk Line Limited, according to the attorney, Terry Bryant.
A spokeswoman for Mobile, Alabama-based Waterman Steamship Corp. said she did not know about the suit and did not immediately comment. A spokeswoman for Maersk Line Limited did not immediately return a call from CNN seeking comment.
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Richard Hicks of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, a crew member on the Maersk Alabama, was set to file suit Monday against Waterman Steamship Corp. and Maersk Line Limited, according to the attorney, Terry Bryant.
A spokeswoman for Mobile, Alabama-based Waterman Steamship Corp. said she did not know about the suit and did not immediately comment. A spokeswoman for Maersk Line Limited did not immediately return a call from CNN seeking comment.
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Attacks reach 44 in worst month for piracy since records began
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Piracy is enjoying its busiest month since modern records began, official figures show. With three days still to go, there have been 44 attacks on ships around the world – four more than in the whole of March, itself a record-breaking month.
The latest incident happened yesterday morning when a German grain carrier, the Malta-flagged MV Patriot, and 17 crew were seized by armed men in the Gulf of Aden. The crew were said to be unhurt.
Records kept by the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors commercial crime at sea, show that in all there were 102 attacks worldwide in the first three months of 2009, almost twice as many as a year ago.
The seas off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden have become the most dangerous in the world, seeing 61 incidents from January to March, 10 times as many as during the same period in 2008. Since then, the seizing of the US-operated container ship the Maersk Alabama has hit the headlines.
Piracy has become Somalia's only boom industry, netting about $50m (£34m) a year for one of the world's poorest countries. "All you need is three guys and a little boat, and the next day you're millionaires," said Abdullahi Omar Qawden, once a captain in the country's now defunct navy.
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