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Luxury ocean liners in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises aboard armed private yachts off the Somali coast. Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders. When attacked, they retaliate with grenade launchers, machine guns and rocket launchers, reports Austrian business paper Wirtschaftsblatt. Passengers, who can pay an extra £5 a day for an AK-47 machine gun and £7 for 100 rounds of ammo, are also protected by a squad of ex special forces troops.

Luxury ocean liners in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises aboard armed private yachts off the Somali coast. Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders. When attacked, they retaliate with grenade launchers, machine guns and rocket launchers, reports Austrian business paper Wirtschaftsblatt. Passengers, who can pay an extra £5 a day for an AK-47 machine gun and £7 for 100 rounds of ammo, are also protected by a squad of ex special forces troops. The yachts travel from Djibouti in Somalia to Mombasa in Kenya. The...

Luxury ocean liners in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises aboard armed private yachts off the Somali coast. Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders. When attacked, they retaliate with grenade launchers, machine guns and rocket launchers, reports Austrian business paper Wirtschaftsblatt. Passengers, who can pay an extra £5 a day for an AK-47 machine gun and £7 for 100 rounds of ammo, are also protected by a squad of ex special forces troops. The yachts travel from Djibouti in Somalia to Mombasa in Kenya. The...

The Dutch Defense Ministry says Somali pirates have released a hijacked cargo ship aboard which one crew member was fatally shot. The ministry says Dutch marines are escorting the MV Marathon to a safe port. It says one of the 19 crew members died of a gun shot wound sustained when pirates seized the ship on May 7. Another crew member was injured, but the ministry did not give details of his condition. Dutch media say the crew members are Ukrainian.

Defense: The former presidential candidate argues the U.S. should stop and board the North Korean ship if we know it carries banned cargo. Some say it would be an act of war. So is firing missiles at Hawaii.Some say it would be an act of war. So was the naval blockade of Cuba in October 1962 in a confrontation with an infinitely more dangerous foe. Sometimes it's just necessary to exert military pressure to call someone's bluff and nip a growing threat in the bud. The U.S. Navy is tracking a North Korean ship under new U.N. resolution 1874 that...

Chairman calls excess of newbuildings 'gruesome' Evergreen Line plans to withdraw 31 of its oldest ships from service and scrap many of them to help chip away at what its chairman, Chang Yung-fa, described as a “gruesome” excess of vessel capacity in the container ship industry. The ships are 20 G-Class vessels, with capacities of 2,728 TEUs, and 11 GX-class ships, with capacities of 3,428 TEUs. The vessels were built from 1983 to 1988 for use in the round-the-world services that vaulted the Taiwanese line into the top ranks of the world’s container carriers. An Evergreen representative said the G-class...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Ranking Member Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02) has introduced legislation to provide immunity to U.S. merchant mariners who wound or kill pirates while responding to a pirate attack. H.R. 2984, the "U.S. Mariner and Vessel Protection Act," was introduced in response to the recent hijacking of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates, during which the pirates kidnapped the ship's captain. The bill directs the U.S. Coast Guard to certify firearms training for merchant mariners on U.S.-flagged merchant vessels. Any trained mariner using force and the owner, operator or master of said...

Singapore Navy Launches Its First Swedish Archer-Class Submarine 12:49 GMT, June 18, 2009 RSS Archer is one of two ex-Swedish Navy Vaastergotland-class submarines acquired by Singapore in 2005 and comprehensively upgraded, to include air-independent propulsion. (Singapore MoD photo) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean officiated at the launch ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) first Archer-class submarine, RSS Archer, at the Kockums Shipyard in Karlskrona, Sweden, on 16 Jun 2009. The submarine was launched by Mrs Teo Chee Hean. Sweden's State Secretary for Defence, Håkan Jevrell, State Secretary for Trade and former Commander of...

Too short to excerpt. (My take) The Japanese Coast Guard has issued a warning to Japanese vessels that NK has banned ships from traveling in the Sea of Japan

There's not a warship for miles, a small pirate skiff is speeding toward you and there's no way the creaking tub you're on can outrun the bandits. How long do you wait before you shoot?

This was the moment a group of heavily-armed pirates learned it isn't wise to tangle with the Royal Navy. The gang - carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades - were found prowling for victims in the seas off the Somali coast. But as these dramatic pictures show they won't be doing much terrorising for a while. After their arrest, the pirates found the crew of frigate HMS Portland blasting one of their boats to pieces. The drama began when a Spanish patrol aircraft spotted two suspicious skiffs in the Gulf of Aden. The area is plagued by highly-organised pirates operating...

Recap: -North Korea tests nuke -Obama gives speech saying he's outraged, then goes golfing -North Korea fires two missiles -Obama's UN Ambassador, Susan Rice (the same woman that the 911 Commission says turned down Sudan's offer to hand over Osama Bin Laden) goes on Today Show and says UN is going to meet, threatens more UN sanctions on the already fully isolated country -UN meets, doesn't pass new sanctions, does send "stern letter" -North Korea responds by test firing another anti-ship missile -Obama Press Secretary is pressed by ABC News Jake Tapper to explain what Obama's next attempt will...

Driving a luxury 4x4 car and smoking imported cigarettes with an expensive satellite phone at his side, Mohamed Said fears his flashy lifestyle as a Somali pirate could be about to come to an end. The 35-year-old has no regrets about joining one of the gangs operating out of the pirate lair of Eyl, a former fishing village that overlooks the Indian Ocean and the strategic shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia through the Gulf of Aden. Their attacks have driven up insurance costs and delayed U.N. aid deliveries. But Said's career has brought him riches he could never have...

Swedish naval personnel arrested seven pirates in the Gulf of Aden in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the Swedish Armed Forces. The pirates were apprehended by staff from the HMS Malmö as they attempted to board a Greek cargo vessel halfway between Yemen and Somalia. HMS Malmö was ordered to respond to a distress signal sent out shortly before 1.30am by the M/V Antonis. The cargo ship's crew said they had come under rocket-proppeled grenade fire from two boats manned by pirates. When the Swedish crew arrived at the scene the pirates were attempting...

Iran has sent six warships into international waters in a move security experts are calling a "muscle flexing" show of defiance following missile tests last week."Iran has dispatched six ... warships to international waters and the Gulf of Aden region in a historically unprecedented move by the Iranian Navy," Iranian Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told a gathering of armed forces officials, Reuters reported. Sayyari said the ships were moved to preserve Iran's territorial integrity in its southern waters, but foreign policy experts are calling it an aggressive move targeted at a Western audience as much as for regional powers like...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has sent six warships to international waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to show its ability to confront any foreign threats, its naval commander said on Monday. Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, quoted by the ISNA news agency, made the announcement five days after Iran said it test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,200 miles), putting Israel and U.S. bases in the area within reach. Iran said on May 14 it had sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect oil tankers from the world's fifth-largest crude exporter against attacks by pirates...

Navy warships dispatched as Spain invades seas around Gibraltar Royal Navy warships have forced heavily armed Spanish ships to retreat from British waters around Gibraltar. Relations between the 30,000 residents of the British outpost and mainland Spain have become strained following what the Foreign Office described as 'a violation of British sovereignty'. The warships were dispatched after Spanish ships sent boarding parties to inspect fishing boats in British waters, despite having no authority to do so. DISPUTE: Inhabitants are concerned the Spanish authorities want to control the British outpost of GibraltarThe Rock's inhabitants fear Spain could damage their economy by...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard will require U.S.-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval, a Coast Guard official said on Tuesday. The new requirements, which respond to a surge of piracy off the coast of Somalia, allow ship owners to decide whether to use armed or unarmed guards, Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson told shipping industry representatives at a maritime security meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The revised Maritime Security Directive, highly anticipated by the shipping industry, was signed on Monday...

Russian courts may prosecute Somali pirates for attacks on Russian ships, a senior legal official was quoted as saying in a newspaper due for publication on Wednesday. The comments from Russia's deputy prosecutor general follow efforts by Russia and other countries to find a legal mechanism to prosecute pirates operating off the East African coast, who have become increasingly bold over the past year. In 2008 there were 293 incidents of piracy against ships worldwide -- 11 percent up on the year before. Attacks off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden almost trebled. "The transfer of such individuals into...

The Somali pirates attacking shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are directed to their targets by a "consultant" team in London, according to a European military intelligence document obtained by a Spanish radio station. The document, obtained by Cadena SER radio, says the team and the pirates remain in contact by satellite telephone. It says that pirate groups have "well-placed informers" in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and...

Somali pirates said on Sunday they had received a $2-million (1.3-million pound) ransom for the release of a British-owned vessel and its 16 Bulgarian crew. Pirate attacks, fuelled by large ransoms, have continued almost unabated despite the presence of an armada of foreign warships patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. "We got a $2 million ransom for the release of the British-owned ship," pirate Mohamed Saleh, from the Somali coastal village of Eyl, told Reuters on Sunday. "A helicopter brought the money."

The fate of seven suspected Somali pirates who were captured by a Spanish warship is uncertain after Spanish prosecutors reversed plans to bring them to Spain to face trial. A Spanish judge, Fernando Andreu, ordered the Somali men released on Friday. However, he refused the prosecution's request to surrender them to Kenyan authorities, saying it would violate the law, since proceedings were already taking place in Spain. A Spanish ship seized the men off the coast of Somalia Wednesday after their boat capsized during their alleged attempt to hijack a Panamanian-flagged vessel. France is prosecuting 15 piracy suspects in its...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy says an American warship that recently served as a prison for captured pirates has evaded an attack off the Somali coast by two boats that pursued the vessel for over an hour and fired light weapons.

MANAMA (Reuters) - Pirates have fired small arms weapons at a U.S. Navy supply ship off the coast of Eastern Somalia, the first attack of this kind since last year's surge in pirate attacks, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. The USNS Lewis and Clark was chased for about an hour on Wednesday morning by two pirates skiffs, but neither came closer than about one nautical mile to the U.S. vessel, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement. The small arms fire fell well short of the U.S. ship which speeded up to evade the skiffs. The USNS...

Suspected pirates failed in an effort to attack a U.S. Navy ship off the eastern coast of Somalia. the Navy said Thursday. Two skiffs, assumed to be pirate vessels, chased the Lewis and Clark, a dry cargo and ammunition ship supporting the Navy's Fifth Fleet, for more than an hour Wednesday before giving up, CNN reported. During the pursuit, the skiffs fired small arms at the Lewis and Clark and got within one nautical mile before the ship used evasive maneuvers and pulled out of range.

5/4/2009 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Navy servicemembers teamed up in April to support and train the newly formed Iraqi navy with maritime mission along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf where a large percentage of Iraq's oil is exported. The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place April 12 as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq's navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf. "We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel...

Americans received a special gift this Easter Sunday with the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage for several days after his ship, the Maersk Alabama, was raided by pirates. The raiding of the Maersk created an international crisis and an around the clock media sensation. People around the globe were riveted to their TVs, praying and hoping for Capt. Phillips' safety as the U.S. Navy moved massive vessels into the area. In the end, the brave Captain freed himself and well-trained U.S. snipers took out three of the four pirates. The obvious question that was seldom...

From a distance the large ship on the horizon looked like the perfect target, ripe for a successful spot of piracy. But as the Somali pirates sped toward the vessel sailing near the Seychelles, they were horrified to see two boats and a helicopter set off from their target and launch their own counter-attack. They had failed to spot, in the dazzling sun, that the 'merchant ship' they thought they were intercepting was, in fact, a French naval ship bristling with cannons, radar technology and armed commandos. When the three pirate boats were spotted heading toward them the frigate Nivose,...

Fourteen suspected Somali pirates have been captured in separate operations by a French frigate and the Seychelles coast guard. French commandos on the frigate Nivose caught 11 suspects some 900 kms (560 miles) off the Somali coast, the French Defence Ministry says. The Nivose is reported to have alerted the Seychelles authorities to help them capture the other three. Somali pirates are currently holding nearly 20 ships for ransom. On Saturday a Greek-owned ship with a Ukrainian crew was hijacked by Somali pirates south-west of the Seychelles, a seafarers' group says. On the same day a Portuguese warship thwarted an...

MOGADISHU, May 2 (Reuters) - Somali pirates said on Saturday they have captured a Ukrainian vessel carrying United Nations' vehicles. "We have hijacked a ship carrying industrial equipment including white cars with the U.N. logo, our friends are on board it," a pirate who said his name was Hussein told Reuters on telephone from the coastal town of Haradheere. Maritime and U.N. officials were not immediately available to confirm.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker, but later freed the 19 men. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, another band of pirates hijacked a cargo ship, a NATO spokesman said Saturday. The 19 pirate suspects were released after consultation with Portuguese authorities because they had not attacked Portuguese property or citizens. NATO said earlier that the Ariana was Norwegian-owned, but the ship's operators, Oslo-based Polyar Tankers AS, said it was owned by Greek ship-owner Polys Haji-Ioannou.

Twenty-free Philippine sailors abducted more than five months ago by Somali pirates returned home for an emotional reunion with their families. Looking haggard but relieved, and led by their captain Abelardo Pacheco, the crew of the Philippine-flagged MT Stolt Strength was reunited with their families at Manila's international airport. The vessel and its crew were released on April 21, ending a 162-day ordeal during which Pacheco said they survived on prayer and constantly feared for their lives. "Daily life was always a combination of fear and helplessness, hopelessness. It was the most negative feeling one could experience," said a teary-eyed...

...After World War II, a new tax put U.S. flagship owners at a competitive disadvantage compared with their foreign-flag competitors, prompting many to ditch Old Glory. But after Navy sharpshooters last month sniped three pirates dead from nearly 100 feet away in the dark on the heaving seas off the coast of Somalia, senators on Thursday asked the captain of the hijacked cargo ship Maersk Alabama whether it wouldn't be a good idea to hoist the Stars and Stripes, you know, just to scare off would-be attackers. Not at all, Captain Richard Phillips told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "You...

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama says, 'And I don't mean a security guard. I don't mean a mall cop. I mean someone who's sufficiently trained.' His boss disagrees.Reporting from Washington -- The freed captain of a merchant ship attacked by pirates near Somalia last month called Thursday for military protection and armed crew members to thwart attacks in dangerous waters. Capt. Richard Phillips, skipper of the Maersk Alabama, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it was the "responsibility of the U.S. government" to protect any ship flying an American flag, through military escorts or onboard squads of...

A militia of fishermen organized by regional leaders in the Somali coastal towns of Alula and Bargaal in the African country's northern Puntland region has captured 12 armed pirates in two boats. The leaders of the militia reported their success to the BBC on April 28. Though — for want of a better word — the militiamen have been described as "vigilantes" by the media. Given the state of lawlessness in Somalia, they probably have as legitimate a mandate to deal with the piracy problem as any other entity in the beleaguered state on the Horn of Africa. "They decided...

With all the back-and-forth between Somali time and D.C. time, a lot of people let this slip through the cracks (including me). The "SEAL pals" email circulated by Rear Admiral Lou Sarosdy (USN ret.) claimed that Obama did not authorize SEAL teams to assist in the rescue of Captain Philips until 36 hours after these resources were requested by the captain on the scene. In their rebuttal campaign last week, anonymous Pentagon sources claimed that the USS Bainbridge did not arrive at the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama until Friday April 10th. It actually arrived on scene at 4:00 AM...

A Russian warship captured a suspected pirate vessel with 29 people on board off the coast of Somalia, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday, citing defense ministry sources. Russia's Admiral Panteleyev anti-submarine ship seized the vessel 15 miles off the coast of Somalia at 1212 GMT on Tuesday, the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported. "Seven Kalashnikov rifles, various pistols and an aluminum ladder were discovered during a search of the ship," RIA Novosti quoted the source as saying. Satellite navigation equipment and a large amount of ammunition was also seized.

Richard Hicks, chief steward on the Maersk Alabama (AP Photo)Richard Hicks, chief steward on the Maersk Alabama, filed a lawsuit yesterday charging the Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line, Ltd with knowingly sending him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection. Somali pirates off the coast of Africa hijacked the Maersk Alabama, an American-flagged cargo ship, earlier this month. The ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, was taken hostage and held in a lifeboat until Easter Sunday, when U.S. Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed three pirates holding him captive. A fourth kidnapper was arrested. When the pirates boarded the ship on April...

Khat-chewing former fisherman known as Garaad is the brains behind pirates' brawnWhen Gilbert and Sullivan composed their melodies about the pirate king, it was doubtful they had a Somali like Garaad in mind. Yet this former fisherman, the man behind many of the recent hijackings in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, is as close as it comes to pirate royalty in the modern world. In an interview on the breezy patio of a Somali hotel, he explains how he exerts direct control over 13 groups of pirates with a total of 800 hijackers, operating in bases stretching from...

HOUSTON – A member of the crew on the U.S.-flagged ship hijacked by African pirates sued the owner and another company Monday, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger. Richard E. Hicks alleges in the suit that owner Maersk Line Limited and Waterman Steamship Corp., which provided the crew, ignored requests to improve safety measures for vessels sailing along the Somali coast.Hicks was chief cook on the Maersk Alabama. Pirates held the ship's captain hostage for five days until the U.S. Navy rescued him.Hicks' lawsuit seeks at least $75,000 in damages and improved safety

Can you tell the difference between these two reports about the attempted high jacking of the Italian Cruise Ship Melody? Did you notice the word left out of the BBC Coverage? Israeli. So what is going on? Does the BBC Hate Israel so much that the refuse to recognize when Israelis do a good thing? Or are they still smarting for being smacked around by the BBC Trustees for their biased coverage of Israel. Either way, this is additional proof that BBC stands for Bullcrap Broadcast Continually.

Israeli private security guards exchanged fire with pirates who attacked an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board far off the coast of Somalia, and drove them away, the ship's 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 fire. "It felt like we were in war," Pinto said. None of the roughly 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members were hurt, Melody owner Msc Cruises said in a statement...

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 fire. "It felt like we were in war," Pinto said. None of the roughly 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members were hurt, Melody owner Msc...

As one who was privileged and honored to train and hang out with the greatest warriors the world has ever known, it comes as no surprise that mighty U.S. Navy SEALS came through in the recent pirating of a U.S. Merchant Marine ship. The best of the best saved the kidnapped captain, killed three bad guys and captured a fourth. Those of us who cherish justice and good over evil salute the heroes of the American special ops and a commander in chief who gave the green light to do the right thing. God bless the warriors But if common...

(IsraelNN.com) Workers from an Israeli security firm thwarted attempts by Somalian pirates on Saturday night to hijack an Italian pleasure cruiser with its 1,500 passengers, within the Indian Ocean.

The excavation and dredging works to enlarge the Panama Canal are being carried out in different levels of execution, as part of a process that should conclude in 2014. The first dry excavation stage, has been fulfilled by almost 90 per cent. The second part of the contract, work has been executed by 60 per cent. The third is still in its initial stage. According to available reports the value of the already agreed contracts reached about 339.4 million dollars in December. The programme consists of the construction of two lock complexes, with three levels each, together with the widening...

SNIPPET: “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).”

ROME — An Italian cruise ship fended off a pirate attack off the coast of Somalia, with its security forces exchanging fire with the bandits, the commander said Saturday. 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 security forces aboard the cruise ship returned fire. Domenico Pellegrino, head of the ship-owner Msc Cruises, told ANSA news agency that all 1,500 passengers and crew aboard the Melody were safe, and credited Pinto for his "cool-headed" handling of the incident. The attack occurred...

I’m the first one at the party to lapse into pirate humor — “agrhhh ... Master ’awkins ... shiver me timbers” and all that — but there’s humor and then there’s ignorance, and it’s easy for the fine line separating the two to get lost among mateys. I was watching Jon Stewart the other night, and he went off on this schtick on the Somali pirates; it was a little amusing at first, but then he got down to it. He reached under his desk for a little American flag, and then began a whole riff on how cool it...

The top U.S. military officer in charge of the African coastline plagued by pirates says shipping companies should take a hard look at hiring armed guards to protect their ships. Gen. David Petraeus... said Friday that the U.S. military already has used armed guards aboard some commercial ships that carry military cargo. He said cargo ships can't really protect themselves with fire hoses when the pirates have rocket propelled grenades.