THE LATEST PIRACY ARTICLES
Piracy is a very nasty business and far from the glamorous movie images that are often portrayed by Hollywood. Piracy Today is also are a lot more sinister than the often bland media reports that fail to understand the desperate and dangerous situation facing seafarers.
Many seafarers get killed and injured and suffer badly while in extended captivity and it is a very big money ransom game off Somalia.
Pirates reaped more than $100 million in 2009 from ransoming ship and crews.
Also piracy is alive and well in Nigeria which takes number two spot and out in Asia the Malacca Straits while relatively quiet these days still has incidents
The number one location for piracy or armed robbery for yachts is around Venezuela where attacks are regular often with dire consequences, and while officially piracy and armed robbery are classified as separate things that is cold comfort to those attacked.
I have been a seafarer all my life and have been on ships that have been attacked and boarded by pirates, and this isn’t a new problem, but a problem that has escalated as the global economy creates more targets. How safe and prepared are you for pirates, armed robbers and more? Pirates are ruthless and totally disregard life, they work for well organised crime gangs, they know what they want and they come over the side with automatic weapons and a take no prisoners mindset.
This is an eye-opening account, by respected author and seaman John C. Payne, who lifts the veil on modern piracy, detailing hundreds of very real and frightening accounts up until the present. The recent hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somalia pirates merely brought worldwide attention to an issue that has been simmering for years.
Piracy has never gone away, and has become even more pervasive in the 21st century, where smaller crews man more technologically advanced ships. Vagaries of jurisdiction and the vast oceans make pirates harder to capture and bring to justice.
In safe havens like Somalia and the Malacca Straits, they are a menace to ships of any type. What is being done about them, and what more can be done? What precautions can you take with your own yacht? Payne brings decades of experience to bear on this threat to every sailor.
Click on this link to go back and find out more about and all you need to know. Piracy Articles to read.