Piracy Suspects Are Held in Foiled Attack on a Cruise Ship: By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Seychelles took custody of nine piracy suspects on Tuesday, accusing them of trying to hijack a cruise liner carrying 1,000 tourists.

Yemin Coast guard said to free tanker: The coast guard of Yemen has freed a hijacked Yemeni oil tanker and arrested 11 Somali pirates, the first time the country has successfully retaken a seized vessel, a security official said.The coast guard exchanged gunfire with the pirates and took control of the oil tanker Qana on Sunday, the official said.The vessel had been hijacked earlier in the day while between the two southern Yemeni ports of Mukalla and Aden.The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Recent Pirate Attacks:

Incident Details:

(25.04.2009 : 0600 LT : Posn: 14:00.9N – 051:31.7E): Gulf of Aden: Two small speed boats with five persons armed with guns approached a general cargo ship underway. When the speed boats were about three cables away from the vessel they opened fire using automatic guns. Master enforced anti piracy measures and prevented the boarding. View

(25.04.2009 : 0335 LT: Posn: 14:01N – 051:34E): Gulf of Aden: Pirates in skiffs armed with guns attacked and hijacked a bulk carrier underway. It is believed the pirates are in control of the vessel and have taken the crew hostage. View

10 Things You Didn't Know About Somali Pirates: In the 15 years since armed Somali fishermen began forcing their way onto commercial ships, pirates have turned East Africa's seas into the world's most dangerous waters. In 2008 alone, Somalia's lawless seamen captured more than 40 large vessels in the Gulf of Aden, a shortcut between Asia and Europe that's vital to the global economy. Wiping out today's pirates won't be easy; they're smarter, better organized, and, frankly, better loved abroad than the swashbucklers of yesteryear. In a special dispatch from Mombasa, Kenya, Mental Floss correspondent David Axe explains.

1. They Have a Robin Hood Complex...


Real Pirates Have Taken the 'Ho Ho' Out of 'Yo Ho Ho' for Cap'n Slappy: by STEPHANIE SIMON -Mark Summers has a beef with the pirates who are seizing cargo ships and taking hostages off the coast of Somalia: They're ruining his bad name.

For years, Mr. Summers has been donning frock coats and plumed hats and rakish red scarves and tucking blunderbusses into his belt to transform himself into Cap'n Slappy. That's Pirate Capt. Slappy to you, mate.

Italian Cruise Ship Fires on Somali Pirates: ROME -- An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private-security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.

Cmdr. Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard the cruise ship returned shots.

"It felt like we were in war," Cmdr. Pinto said.

Live Piracy Report: (03:10.8N - 105:28.5E) Off Pulau Mangkai, South China Sea: Five pirates armed with long knives in a boat boarded a container ship underway. They attacked the master and stole ship's cash and escaped. No injuries to crew.

U.S. Navy Helps Stranded Tanker: MANILA --Naval vessels from the United States, Germany and China have come to the aid to a Philippine chemical tanker stranded without fuel in waters near Somalia days after it was freed by pirates, an official said Saturday.

The West Turns to Kenya as Piracy Criminal Court: by JEFFREY GETTLEMAN - Piracy suspects are being sent to Mombasa, where officials are eager to mete out justice.

In the shadow of Fort Jesus, a 16th-century Portuguese stronghold that truly belongs to the era of slave raiders and pirate ships, is the office of Kenya’s premier pirate lawyer...

Muhammad on the High Seas: By Stephen Prothero - The late spate of piracy off the coast of Somalia has been analyzed so far almost entirely in political and economic terms: Somalia is lawless and impoverished, so Somali men are taking world trade for a ride. Religion comes up in this analysis only in terms of fears about potential ties between Somali pirates and Islamist groups such as al Qaeda and al Shabab.

Bombing Somalia is a dud: By Micah Zenko - Some propose airstrikes against Somali pirates, but past attacks in the region have been ineffective.

Buoyed by the remarkable marksmanship of U.S. Navy SEALs against Somali pirates, a debate has emerged about the wisdom of bombing the pirates' support infrastructure onshore in Somalia. Given the painful memory of 18 U.S. soldiers killed in 1993 in Mogadishu in the "Black Hawk Down" battle, deploying U.S. ground forces in Somalia is not seriously being considered, making airstrikes the best military option.

International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Live Piracy Map 2009View full official reports of each piracy incident reported to the IMB.

Somali PM: Anti-pirate patrols not working:
Somalia's prime minister told CNN Thursday that the international naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden are not solving the problem of piracy in the region.Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke pointed to the recent increase in pirate attacks as evidence, and called for the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia to be lifted so the government can fight back against the pirates and local militant Islamist groups.

Hedging Bets on the High Seas:
As the latest ship seizures off the coast of Somalia demonstrate, piracy has not let up following the Apr. 12 rescue of the Maersk Alabama's captain—despite the deaths of three of the pirates holding the cargo ship captive.

Piracy attacks almost doubled in 2009 first quarter:
A dramatic increase in activity by Somali pirates led to a near doubling in the number of ships attacked during the year’s first quarter compared with the same period in 2008, according to a report issued today by the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB). View article

FAVORITE PIRATE NEWS SO FAR:

Dolphins Reported to Foil Pirate Attack By ROBERT MacKEY - China's official news agency Xinhua reports that "thousands of dolphins" prevented an attack on Chinese ships by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden....

About New York: When the City Held Pirates in High Regard: By JIM DWYER - In the 17th century, piracy was a leading economic development tool in the city's competition with the ports of Boston and Philadelphia.

Op-Ed Contributor: Pirates and the Law: By ROBERT BECKMAN and TOMMY KOH - The United States should take the lead in the fight against Somali pirates. It would have the law and world public opinion on its side.

Pirate Suspect, Now in New York, Charged as Adult: By SHARON OTTERMAN - A Somali teenager arrives to face what are believed to be the first piracy charges in the U.S. in decades.

U.N.: Somali Pirates Release Lebanese Ship:
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Somali pirates released a Lebanese-owned cargo ship seized last week as it headed to pick up food aid for Africa, a United Nations spokesman said Monday.

The Togo-flagged MV Sea Horse was released Friday, U.N. World Food Program spokesman Peter Smerdon said, citing the ship's operators. He had no more details and it wasn't known if a ransom was paid.

The release was a rare piece of good news about the pirate crisis plaguing the Horn of Africa. Pirates still hold at least 17 other ships and around 300 crew. Most ships are held for multimillion-dollar ransoms.

Latest Adventure for Pirate: Capturing Courtroom Buzz - By BENJAMIN WEISER: The Somali man who surrendered during the rescue of an American cargo ship captain may be tried in New York, and legal experts debated the challenges of the case.

Ron Paul has a solution to the pirate problem - By Johanna Neuman: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket19-2009apr19,0,921107.story

A long line of pirate hunters By Jerry Hirsch: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-hirsch17-2009apr17,0,1060250.story

OPINION April 17, 2009 Editorial: Fighting Piracy in Somalia Pirates can't be allowed to roam the seas unchallenged. But a solution won't come through military means alone.

Pirates seize Belgian ship; NATO frees 20 hostages Associated Press: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pirates19-2009apr19,0,3926578.story

11 Pirates Seized by French Navy By SHARON OTTERMAN and MARK McDONALD French forces detained 11 suspected pirates during an assault on what they described as a pirate "mother ship" in the Indian Ocean.

The Lede: Dolphins Reported to Foil Pirate Attack
By ROBERT MacKEY - China's official news agency Xinhua reports that "thousands of dolphins" prevented an attack on Chinese ships by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.