Danish Navy Rescues Drifting Probable Pirates

Passengers say they felt little in danger as ship outran attackers off Somalia

(NEWSER) - Sunday’s pirate attack lasted only about 5 minutes, but left an impression on passengers of the M/S Nautica. “We didn’t think they would be cheeky enough to attack a cruise ship,” one New Zealander traveling aboard the luxury liner tells the AP today. “I couldn’t see them shooting, but I heard them hitting the ship,” said another passenger. “Pop! Pop! Pop!” More»

Three children were among those held hostage

(NEWSER) - The Danish family held hostage by Somali pirates since February has been released and is safe. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children between the ages of 12 and 16, and two adult crew members are in “relatively good condition,” according to Denmark’s foreign ministry and the BBC , and will return home soon. Soldiers from the Puntland State of Somalia were killed in March in a failed rescue attempt, and a $3 million ransom was ultimately paid for the family’s release. More»

Encounters at sea grow more violent as ships fight back

(AP) - Private security guards shot and killed a Somali pirate yesterday during an attack on a merchant ship off the coast of East Africa in what is believed to be the first such killing by armed contractors. The guards were onboard the MV Almezaan when a pirate group approached it twice, said an EU Naval Force spokesman; during the second approach on the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, which is United Arab Emirates owned, there was an exchange of fire between the guards and the pirates. More»

Eight pirates captured while trying to escape

(NEWSER) - A US warship stepped in to defend a Tanzanian ship that was under attack from pirates, scaring off and capturing the scallywags. When the USS Farragut got a distress call from the Tanzanians saying a gang on a skiff was attacking them, a Seahawk helicopter was dispatched to the scene. The pirates fled at the sight of the copter, but it stopped their skiff by firing across its bow. More»

(AP) - Somali pirates have hijacked a German cargo ship carrying a crew of 11 in the Gulf of Aden, the latest seizure by high-seas bandits who are holding hundreds of merchant mariners hostage, the AP reports.The MV Victoria was captured yesterday 75 miles south of Yemen. There is no information on the condition of the Romanian crew aboard the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship. More»