France Pursues Yacht Seized by Pirates
 

France Pursues Yacht Seized by Pirates
MOGADISHU, Somalia (April 6) - A French luxury yacht seized by suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden with 30 crew members on board has arrived in northern Somalia, officials and fishermen said Sunday.
About 10 suspected pirates had stormed the 288-foot Le Ponant on Friday as it was returning, without passengers, from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. The pirates then guided the vessel down Somalia's eastern coast.

Local fisherman Mahdi Daud Anbuure told The Associated Press that he saw the ship arriving at the northern town of Eyl, with a small boat heading toward it, apparently with supplies.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/france-...04135809990001

One of the truly said things is that this is going on all the time.
With local traffic.

And one of the most dangerous thing is that is also going on with major container, freighters and oil tankers.
And that connections have been made between the pirates and world terrorist groups.

So becoming a pirate one day may not just be a pipe dream. Cool.

Well last year, in about the same area, a group of pirates picked a target late one night/early in morning.
Small problem-it was a U.S. Navy Destroyer on patrol.
Not sure just what happened to the pirates; I do recall them being picked up from out of the sea.

A few of my friends that have nice boats have told me stories of pirates trying to board (in Florida waters!). Its a lot more common than most people think.

Many cruise ships now have pirate-deterring sound...things...on decks after these pirates went after a couple of them.

I blame Johnny Depp for all of this.

:)

Agree; one can do a very fast search starting with either "Modern Day Pirates", "Modern Day Piracy" or " Modern Piracy" as a term and find pages of information.

I read a few books about it last year and as you put it PhiGam found out just how common and scary it is.
As this report shows for the last week of March:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
IMB live piracy map 2008:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/extra/display.php?yr=2008
IMB live piracy map 2007:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/extra/display.php?yr=2007

Luckily they had firearms on board and once the pirates see that they give up, just like the pirates of the old days, they do not like confrontations.

France Sends Troops in Pirate Standoff
 

France Sends Troops in Pirate Standoff
France Sends Elite Team to Bolster Efforts to Free Yacht Held by Pirates Off Somalia
Elite French troops were headed to East Africa to bolster efforts to free captives of a yacht held by pirates off Somalia, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Monday.
A team of the GIGN, a commando force that conducts anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, was being sent to Djibouti to "reinforce" negotiation teams in place, spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said in an online briefing
http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=4602115
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347309,00.html

FRANCE WARNS IT WILL NOT TOLERATE PIRACY AFTER HOSTAGES FREED
 

FRANCE WARNS IT WILL NOT TOLERATE PIRACY AFTER HOSTAGES FREED
PARIS, April 12, 2008 (AFP) - France's defence minister warned Saturday Paris would not tolerate extortion attempts, after French military secured the release of 30 hostages from a luxury boat off Somalia and seized half a dozen pirates.
"This is the first time a country has decided not to let itself be extorted, but also to take matters into its own hands," Herve Morin said on RTL radio, praising French special forces for apprehending the hostage-takers.
He spoke a day after pirates released the 30 crew members of the three-masted yacht Le Ponant, who were taken hostage last week. The operation also saw six hostage-takers arrested in a dramatic raid as they attempted to escape in a 4x4, French officials said.
A source close to the negotiations with the pirates said the boat owner paid some two million dollars (1.3 million euros) to free the hostages, and that a portion of the money was recovered when the six pirates were detained -- with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon confirming the recovery.
On Friday, the French chief of the general staff, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, said no "public money" had been paid to the kidnappers.
Morin added that President Nicolas Sarkozy had ordered that, if possible, the abductors be captured alive.
http://www.ttc.org/200804121606.m3cg6tm04502.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asi...fight_pirates/
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...201/REALESTATE

More about Pirates and just how their actions have impact elsewhere
 

Japan oil tanker leaks after attack off Yemen coast
Associated Press 04.21.08, 9:44 AM ET
TOKYO -
A suspected pirate ship fired on a Japanese oil tanker Monday off the eastern coast of Yemen, leaving a hole from which hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked, officials said. No one was injured.
The 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was attacked about 270 miles off the coast of Aden in southwestern Yemen while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/...ap4912911.html
Retail gas hits record $3.50 a gallon as oil marches higher

By ADAM SCHRECK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW YORK -- Retail gas prices hit another new milestone Monday, jumping to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country. Crude oil prices, meanwhile, set new records of their own, spiking above $117 a barrel after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...il_prices.html

Oil prices climb to record above $117 a barrel after Mideast attack on Japanese oil tanker
NEW YORK: Crude oil prices set new records Monday, spiking above $117 a barrel after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East.
Crude prices are rising along with a host of commodities, from corn and wheat to gold and platinum. Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a record $117.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange but fell back to $116.09, down 60 cents from Friday's close.
Crude prices came under increased pressure Monday after the 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was struck off the coast of Yemen as it headed for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement posted on its Web site. None of the ship's 23 crew members was injured, but several hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked before a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern was repaired, the company said.
Kyodo News agency reported that the Japanese tanker was fired on by a rocket launcher from a small boat.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...Oil-Prices.php

U.S., France Draft U.N. Resolution to Battle Pirates Off Somalia

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat, U.N. diplomats said Monday.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the resolution would authorize foreign governments pursue pirate vessels into territorial waters, make arrests, and prosecute suspects.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352059,00.html

Spain Says Pirates Hijack Fishing Boat off Coast of Somalia

MADRID, Spain — Pirates have hijacked a Spanish fishing boat with a crew of 26 off the coast of Somalia, Spain's Foreign Ministry said Monday.
There were no reports of injuries in the seizure Sunday, the ministry said.
It said the vessel is called Playa de Bakio, its crew fishes for tuna and is based in Spain's Basque region.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351949,00.html

Pirates arrested as police storm hijacked boat

Hostages freed, 3 injured in raid off Somalia in latest in spate of attacks

MOGADISHU, Somalia: Security forces in northern Somalia stormed a hijacked ship Tuesday, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates — three of whom were wounded in the operation, officials said.
The seizure was the latest in a spate of pirate attacks off the increasingly lawless Somali coast.
The Dubai-flagged ship, called the al-Khaleej, originated from the United Arab Emirates and was seized Monday, said Abdullahi Said Samatar, security affairs minister in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24244447/
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...EN-Somalia.php
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...,2642372.story