P I R A T E S

[MMNETSEA]

P I R A T E S

Pirates are in the news - the media loves them - when pirates intercepted the luxury yacht Le Ponant the other day hundreds of miles off shore, they did not fire a shot of grape across the bows, they swarmed aboard via the aft swim platform (that some would claim was specially designed for pirates) The crew were herded forward - not a shot was fired , the Kalashnikov assault rifle - the Mahdi provided by Egypt, favoured over the cutlass and flintlock. The pirates' operating manual forbid the ill treatment of the hostage crew - expressly forbidding the raping of women! On to the radio, call up Paris, send money (dollars please) in small bills. Money arrived - hostages and Le Ponant freed. Later on shore - 6 pirates, still with some of the booty - stopped by helicopter- whisked off to Paris, to stand trial, to be found guilty, to be sentenced - NO drawn and quartered, NO hanging chained in a cage. YES to cells in Province good food , culture shock = have to drink wine. The other wealthy untouchables with the rest of the dollars now shopping for faster boat and an armored humvee.

Pirates of Yesterday and of Today, a really well researched work is to be found here with express permission of the Researcher :-

PIRATES

Thanks Toby !!!!

[Wildernesstech]

U.S. Calls for Cooperation in Combating Sea Piracy

agence france-presse

Published: 14 May 13:36 EDT (09:36 GMT)

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The U.S. called on May 14 for increased civilian and military cooperation worldwide to combat sea piracy, off the perilous coasts of Africa in particular.

Maritime forces should unite with insurance and shipping companies to make it "so hard, so difficult, and high risk for pirates to undertake their business that they stop doing it," said Adm. Gary Roughead, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations.

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He was speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Copenhagen on maritime security that grouped more than 200 representatives from 60 countries, including navies, non-governmental organizations and NATO.

The two-day meeting was organized by Denmark and the U.S. to discuss ways of combating a disturbing rise in incidents of sea piracy.

"Cooperation is the key. One country can't do it alone," Roughead said, citing the example of efforts made by countries bordering the strait of Malacca.

Faced with "significant" piracy problems, "Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia came together, put together ways of sharing information (and) began in an effective way patrolling the area," he said.

"They have essentially reduced piracy for the last five years from an excessive 50 events a year to one this year," he added.

But acts of piracy have continued to increase elsewhere around the world.

In 2007, there were 263, up from 239 in 2006, according to the International Maritime Organisation.

Waters off the coast of Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity, are considered among the most dangerous in the world.

Ships from Denmark, France, Spain and Japan have been hijacked by pirates in the region in the past six months and were released after ransom money was paid.