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16 Stories

October 2008
- Deal Close on Ship: Somali Pirates
  
  AFP | Oct 7, 08 4:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A ransom deal could come as soon as tomorrow for the crew of the Ukrainian freighter being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, AFP reports. The ship, with 21 crewmembers and tanks and other military materials as cargo, was taken over Sept. 25 and is currently surrounded by a flotilla of international naval ships in the Indian Ocean off Hobyo, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Somalia • pirates
- Somali Standoff Continues as Nations Move to Fight Piracy
  
  BBC | Oct 2, 08 11:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With pirates still holding a munitions-laden ship off Somalia’s coast, the European Union plans a security force to crack down on maritime crime in the area, the BBC reports. The US Navy has surrounded the MV Faina to ensure the weapons aboard are not given to terrorists, and Somalia has authorized use of force to regain control of the ship. Meanwhile piracy in the area has netted some $30 million in ransom this year, the AP adds. More »
  
  Tags
  
  European Union • Africa • US Navy • Somalia • pirates • ransom
- Pirates Discuss Ransom for Arms Shipment
  
  BBC | Oct 1, 08 3:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukranian ship carrying a weapons shipment are in ransom negotiations with the vessel’s owners, the BBC reports. No governments are involved in the talks, sources said. The pirates seem to be flexible: They initially asked for a $35 million ransom, then $20 million, and now “it’s down to $5 million,” one source said. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Africa • Ukraine • Somalia • pirates • weapons • cargo ships
September 2008
- Somali Pirates: Uh, Hey, We're 'Misunderstood'
  
  New York Times | Sep 30, 08 11:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Somali pirates currently surrounded by US warships aboard a Ukrainian weapons freighter say they didn’t mean to steal the massive heavy weaponry shipment, they tell the New York Times , calling in by satellite phone. “We just saw a big ship,” said the leader. “So we stopped it.” They promise they’re not out to sell the cargo to terrorists. “We just want the money.” More »
  
  Tags
  
  US Navy • piracy • Somalia • pirates
- 3 Pirates Killed in In-Fighting Aboard Hijacked Tanker
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 30, 08 4:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Three pirates were killed today as in-fighting broke out aboard a hijacked Ukranian tanker, reports the Guardian. Tensions about what to do with the tanker, its crew, and the 33 tanks aboard it rose yesterday as American destroyers and cruisers continued to move in to ensure that the weapons—bound for Sudan—didn't fall into the wrong hands, said a Navy spokesman. More »
  
  Tags
  
  US Navy • piracy • Somalia • pirates
- Talk Like a Pirate Today, Matey, Or Walk the Plank!
  
  Detroit Free Press | Sep 19, 08 4:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ahoy, matey! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, the Detroit Free Press reports—though the good fortune of falling on a Friday has some wannabe swashbucklers set for a weekend of buccaneering behavior. Initially a joke between two friends, the holiday got national exposure when Dave Barry mentioned it in his Miami Herald column—and pirate-lovers everywhere realized what they’d been missing. More »
  
  Tags
  
  holiday • pirates
June 2008
- UN Boosts Members' Powers to Fight Africa Piracy
  
  CNN | Jun 3, 08 12:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With piracy a growing problem off the Horn of Africa, the UN will allow its members to combat pirates using “all necessary means,” including chasing them into Somali waters, CNN reports. Somalia’s transitional government supports the move. More than two dozen pirate attacks have been reported in the area in 2008, including nine successful hijackings. More »
  
  Tags
  
  United Nations • piracy • Security Council • Somalia • pirates • UN Security Council • Horn of Africa
- Life Imitates Depp: Caribbean Piracy on Rise
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 2, 08 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pirates of the Caribbean is becoming all too real for yachters, the Los Angeles Times reports, with crime against visiting boats on the rise—and “it's becoming more violent,” one analyst says. The attacks are prompting businesses to advise caution—but they worry that overstating the problem could cause paranoia among tourists, the backbone of the region’s economy. More »
  
  Tags
  
  theft • Caribbean • piracy • pirates • armed robbery • yachts • Pirates of the Caribbean • violent crime
May 2008
- Kickball 'Pirate' Busted With Sword at Macy's
  
  New York Post | May 26, 08 5:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A knuckle-headed player for a local "Pirates" kickball team was busted at Macy's in Manhattan yesterday for sporting an actual swashbuckler's sword, reports the New York Post . The 29-year-old player told police the sword was a "prop" he was taking to a game—but cops were not amused. "It's not a toy. It's sharp," explained an officer. More »
  
  Tags
  
  pirates • Macy's • sword
- Pirates Hijack Relief Ship Off of Somalia
  
  BBC | May 18, 08 10:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pirates hijacked a Jordanian relief ship off the Somalia coast early yesterday, reports the BBC, and its 12-member international crew are now traveling north with its cargo of 4,000 tons of sugar. Jordan is reportedly working with the Danish embassy in Mogadishu, near where the boat was seized, to try to get the ship and crew released. More »
  
  Tags
  
  kidnapping • relief • Somalia • Jordan • pirates • attack • East Africa • hijacking
April 2008
- Spain Speeds to Save Pirate Hostages
  
  BBC | Apr 21, 08 9:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Spanish naval frigate is steaming to the waters off Somalia to rescue crew members of a tuna boat seized by pirates, reports the BBC. The boat was grabbed just days after French commandos freed hostages from a luxury yacht comandeered by Somali pirates. The tuna boat's 26 crew members are "well," the captain said by radio, but the pirates are demanding a ransom. More »
  
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  hostage • Spain • Somalia • pirates • ransom • fishing boat
- Ignore Pirates or Face Asylum Claims, UK Says
  
  Times (UK) | Apr 13, 08 10:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In an odd new take on piracy, the British Royal Navy has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates—or they may seek asylum to escape death sentences in their home countries. It's not a strategy roundly hailed. “These people commit horrendous offenses. It’s a pathetic indictment of what our legal system has come to," complained one politician. More »
  
  Tags
  
  crime • kidnapping • Somalia • pirates • cruise ships • asylum • ransom • cargo ships • Britian
- Somali Pirates Free French Yacht Hostages
  
  AFP | Apr 11, 08 11:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Somali pirates have freed the crew members of the French yacht they commandeered last week, AFP reports. All 30 hostages, including 22 French nationals, were handed over “without incident” in a deal negotiated by the military, Nicolas Sarkozy said. More »
  
  Tags
  
  France • hostage • Somalia • Yemen • pirates • yachts
- Pirates Grab French Yacht Off Somalia
  
  AFP | Apr 4, 08 8:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pirates overran a French yacht off the coast of Somalia today and took 30 crew members hostage, AFP reports. Vowing a quick end to the hijacking, France has joined a US-led regional force and may use its own "relatively major military resources within this zone," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said. No passengers were on board, and, "as far as we know, no shots have been fired," a French official said. More »
  
  Tags
  
  France • Somalia • Yemen • pirates • yachts
December 2007
- Boat Slayings Suspect Blabs in Prison
  
  Associated Press | Dec 20, 07 4:52 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A jailhouse confession could doom two suspects in the murder of four people in the Joe Cool fishing boat case, the AP reports. A fellow inmate says suspect Guillermo Zarabozo came clean about the September killings, claiming that accomplice Kirby Archer shot the victims and that Zarabozo dumped the bodies overboard. The killings came after the boat's captain refused to take the pair to Cuba, the inmate said. More »
  
  Tags
  
  murder • Cuba • pirates • extradition • missing boater
September 2007
- 'Ghost Ship' a Case of Intrigue on High Seas
  
  Newsweek | Sep 29, 07 1:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The sea is telling no secrets about an abandoned charter boat found 30 miles north of Cuba this week, missing the young couple who owned it and two crewmembers. But Newsweek reports that the two men who chartered the boat, found floating miles away in its life raft, are failing to impress authorities with their story about pirates who killed the four. More »
  
  Tags
  
  crime • Florida • pirates • boats • missing boater