28 April 2009
Nine suspected pirates have been captured north of the Seychelles after an unsuccessful attempt to seize an Italian cruise liner.
The European Union's Maritime Security Centre (MSC) said the pirates were intercepted by a Spanish warship, the Numancia. The suspects, who were "in poor health," were released as a result of lack of evidence, but the Seychelles coastguard then picked them up.
"The capture operation was conducted in co-operation with a... French maritime patrol aircraft and a warship from the Indian Navy which also discovered an abandoned skiff not far from the scene," the MSC said.
The cruise ship, the Melody, was attacked on Saturday night. Armed security guards and the ship's crew repelled the pirates, who approached the ship in a small speedboat, by firing shots into the air and deploying fire hoses against them.
In another incident, the Fairplay shipping news website reported that a Russian tanker crew used fire hoses to chase off pirates in an attempted hijacking on Monday.
"Three pirate boats approached NS Commander in the Indian Ocean, about 120 nautical miles east of the Yemeni island of Socotra," Fairplay said. "The assailants, armed with automatic weapons and grenade launchers, tried to board the tanker and fired at it, but the 23 crew members evaded capture, then turned the hoses on the pirates."
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 allAfrica.com. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Great thats good news, After trial and conviction, Please carry pictures of their hanging so we truely know there are 9 less pirates in the world.
The international media is now reporting that the passengers of the cruise ship are claiming they repelled the pirates by throwing deck chairs at them, while the captain and security guards did nothing but sit in the ship's lounge and drink martinis.
Deck chairs. Against pirates armed with AK47s and grenade launchers. Are these guys even trying to maintain even the tiniest journalistic standards any more? This is the plot of a Hollywood comedy movie, not a factual report! All we need now is a report that the bullet holes in the ship were a result of the Captain shooting himself in the foot when he dropped his service revolver trying to save his bottle of gin from falling off the end of the bar three hours after the pirates fled.
The only tiny sign of honesty in the reports is how they preface them with the words, "According to passengers..." Think about the kind of people tend to be passengers on a cruise ship... naturally the spoiled rich elitists will spin a yarn about how they repelled experienced bandits carrying enough firepower to cut the ship in half by dropping deck chairs on their heads as they tried to board. Who cares about how things really happened, when we can deliver a compelling narrative (with myself as the hero, of course)? If we have to ignore the fact that the deck chairs are bolted to the deck, or claim we were just so skilled with monkey wrenches that we could get the chairs up faster than the firing rate of a fully automatic AK47, well that just makes us look more awesome, right?
And the media reports it uncritically, leaving it up to the viewer to realize these "reports" are from liars, for morons.
While it is often hard to verify the veracity of any news report, I was stunned to see a comment that “the deck chairs are bolted to the deck” … What? I have never seen nor heard of such a thing … though I would like to know what company would do this, as I would most assuredly never go on a cruise with them.
Where is this African Union what is it saying about all this .What does it stand for ??
Tthe world, including, more, than not, the United States, and all wealthy countries need to aid the Somali people.
1. in attaining a stable government
2. assisting its people in creating a far better life than the horrors they have experienced
3.help in rebuilding their infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
4. bring to task the people responsible for dumping toxic waste in their waters
5. bring to task those who fish illegally in their waters
6. assist in cleaning up the toxic wastes already dumped
7. assist in the cleanup of those wastes that have ended up on their beaches
I believe if all these things were to happen the pirate-issue would disappear.
I am an American and a proponent of aid for Somalia. Most Americans know nothing about the other pirates, those who dump toxic waste, like nuclear waste, and fish their waters illegally, and have for decades.
See all comments (18).
Active Discussions: New Pirate Attacks