The Australian, in its article “Cruse vessel outruns pirates,” advises that pirates were outrun by the cruise vessel Nautica while on a voyage from Rome to Singapore.
The article goes on to report that the attack occurred as the ship travelled through the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen.
The captain of the Nautica had the passengers move inside and close all balcony doors.
Despite being fired at eight times by the pirates, the ship outran them. A French warship which was alerted by the Danish Navy sent a helicopter to chase away the pirates.
The Danes have initiated a program to battle piracy and weapons that are being smuggled.
Pirating has become a major problem in the Indian Ocean. The pirates are heavily armed and hold crews and passengers for ransom.
Luckily, despite the attack, none of the 400-member crew or 684 passengers were injured.
Modern-day piracy is taking place primarily off the shore of Somalia in the Indian Ocean and at the Horn of Africa.
The pirates are sophisticated. They are looking for the crew’s private belongings as well as cash in the ship’s safe.
The pirates don’t miss a trick or an opportunity to get loot. They also have stolen food from ships that were on their way to deliver aid to countries that are having problems.
The Gulf of Aden is a favorite spot for pirates because it is on a major trade route.
While modern-day piracy had been declining the last few years, 2007 signaled a 10% increase.
In researching Somalia I found that they, like much of Africa have been constantly war-torn. There have been political collapses.
At one time Somalia was divided into 18 regions.
It is not difficult to see how any country in North Africa could spawn pirates when you see the current situation of Somalia knowing that they are indicative of the situation in Africa.
In studying the history of piracy and slavery I have studied about the Barbary Pirates. Barbary Pirates operated near West Africa for centuries until the 19th century.
The Barbary Pirates, notably, were responsible for enslaving between 1 and 1.25 million European women and girls. This occurred mostly at seaside villages.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age piracy still exists. Today, rather than enslaving people the pirates just want money.
So far, it is rare that a victim of piracy will be killed but it does happen. You have to figure people who are armed with automatic rifles and RPG’s are going to kill people sooner or later.
References:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24743338-32682,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_pirates
